


A Convenient Arrangement

by DemonSaya



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Light BDSM, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 106,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonSaya/pseuds/DemonSaya
Summary: Sarah dug herself in a bad situation this Christmas. She lied to her parents about having a boyfriend and promised to bring him for Christmas. Now it's December twentieth, and she's got no one to fill the role of boyfriend. Add a bottle of cheap vodka and an drunken wish, and it's going to be a very eventful holiday season for Sarah Williams.
Relationships: SarahxJareth
Comments: 239
Kudos: 274





	1. Cheap Vodka and Lies

Holiday break was upon campus, so the library was blissful silence, not even the rustling turn of pages of students studying. There was only one person in the library, right then. Her dark hair was in a thick french braid down her back, her eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her. The thin wire framed glasses framed her green eyes as she worked, highlighting sections of the paper she had spent the better part of two years working on.

Sarah Williams had been sitting in that same chair for hours, the keys to the library sitting on the desk beside her.

She had the benefit of being the acting librarian while the actual librarian was on maternity leave. And it was a benefit, because it gave her unlimited, free internet access for as long as she required it. It also gave her a quiet place to work on her damn graduate thesis and doctoral dissertation. Her apartment was quiet, too, but she preferred the consistency of working in the same place when she did work on it.

The school clock chimed elsewhere, and she looked up, frowning. Then, she glanced at the time on her watch and sighed.

Seven o’clock.

She sighed, shaking herself and taking her glasses off, pinching the bridge of her nose. That was enough time for the night. But if she stopped working, her mind would have nothing to occupy it. Then, she’d have to focus on the problem that she had been trying to ignore when she’d sequestered herself there, earlier that day.

She pushed that thought away, getting to her feet, wrapping her hand around the keys, and turning off the computer. “Time to go, feet.”

She bundled up, tucking her scarf down into her coat, and pulling her hat over her hair before heading out the door. She locked up the library as she left it, and started trudging home.

Overhead was a low ceiling of clouds, and the air smelled cold and crisp. A heavy sigh escaped her as she looked up at the evidence that the weather report was right. It would snow tonight.

How festive, she thought with sarcasm, her lips pulling into a bit of a frown.

She’d spent the last several weeks working on the paper that would get her a doctorate of philosophy, and she was exhausted. It was also the twentieth of December, and she was expected home in four days for the holidays. With a boyfriend, assuming she somehow managed to find one in that time.

She half-glared at the bright, twinkling Christmas lights hat hung along the street on her way home, pulling her coat tighter around her shoulders to ward off the cold.

She didn’t hate the holiday. She didn’t even hate going to spend time with her family. The fact of the matter was this was her fault. She’d been lying to her father and step-mother about having a boyfriend and promising that she’d bring him along to visit her family “next time” for too long. That had resulted in her parents telling her that they expected her to bring him along with her for Christmas.

This was the problem she had been hiding from by burying herself into her paper. There was no boyfriend, hadn’t been one in more than two years. Men were not a concern of hers, at the moment. She was trying to finish out her doctorate, and men had a bad habit of complicating her plans and her life.

That was a habit they’d had since she was a girl of fifteen.

Sarah’s lips twisted into an irritated frown. In more recent history, they didn’t like that she was putting her career ahead of them, that she didn’t give them enough of her attention and time, and were unsatisfying enough in bed that she didn’t see the point in trying to make a relationship work any longer. They were always disappointed that her dreams meant more than they did to her. They didn’t see or understand that if they supported her dreams, the relationships would last longer.

But, no. It was always about them, and how she wasn’t giving them the attention that they required.

Her parents didn’t understand that. They didn’t see the constant disappointment that she’d endured for the last eight years of her life. Getting a doctorate was a big deal for her. It was something she’d decided she wanted to do, and she was doing fine on her own without men complicating things. Besides, how was she supposed to split her attention and her time between a man and something so grueling? Especially when she was finally almost finished with it.

The unfortunate truth, however, was this line of thinking left her in an awkward position of trying to figure out how to get a man to pretend to be her boyfriend over the Christmas holidays, and to walk away when it was over. And be convincing enough at the deception that her parents would leave her the fuck alone until her thesis and dissertation were finished and she had her damn doctorate degree in hand.

The problem was she’d burned through most of the other students and teachers at the college, at this point and none of them were a good bed. They still called her “the glacier” and “sub zero” as a joke. Or at least they called it a joke. She scoffed, her temper sharp.

She looked up, finding herself at the entrance to a liquor store and she felt the tight frown on her lips. It would seem that she’d need some liquid company, tonight. She sighed and went inside. Browsing the shelves, her mind continued to wander.

She couldn’t even put her friends into that situation. Knowing her family, this was going to be an “event”, meaning the whole family would be there, and it would be hectic enough that someone would see through the deception if she left them alone for even a minute. Besides, her behavior with friends was different, and familiar enough her father would know.

Which meant she had to pick someone who knew how to act their way out of a paper bag, so they could fool her parents into thinking that she was in a loving, healthy relationship with something other than the school paper, which at this point was almost as thick as her copy of the Lord of the Rings Anthology.

With a sigh, she picked up a cheap bottle of vodka, and headed to the checkout. The bored attendant rang her out, and she paid for the bottle, accepting the brown paper bag it was wrapped in. She and the attendant spoke less than two words to each other, and he looked bored enough to scream.

When she stepped outside, fat, cheerful snowflakes were falling down. She glared at them, sticking out her tongue at them. It was childish, sure. She wasn’t worried about that. One, as if to spite her, landed right on the center of her tongue, leaving a cold spot on it.

She sighed, again, and started trudging home, again. At least she’d worn her winter boots, today. The ground was slushy and slick within moments of the snow starting, and it would have been easy to fall and hurt herself.

Inside her apartment, she stomped the snow off her feet and headed upstairs. The elevator was down, which wasn’t a surprise. The elevator hadn’t worked in the time she’d been living there. So, she took the stairs, gripping her bottle of liquid oblivion in one hand, her messenger bag thrown over her body. She was on the fourth floor, and when she reached it, she unlocked her door, and stepped inside.

The apartment was a one bedroom efficiency, rented to college students since the place had become a rental. There was a very small kitchen and a small living room, with no dining area to speak of. Down the short hall was the bathroom, laundry closet and bedroom. It was cheap, which was why she stayed there. It was also big enough for her, so she didn’t feel cramped, and could have someone over to visit, without having them sharing a room with her.

Not that she’d had visitors since she started her doctorate studies.

“Home sweet home,” she said, giving a quiet sigh.

She took off her boots by the door and locked it behind her, hanging her keys on the hook. Her bag went on the next hook over, and she walked to the cabinet that held her glasses. She pulled one down, and grabbed the half carton of orange juice from her fridge. She took a moment to strip from her outerwear, dumping the coat, scarf, and hat on the kitchen table. Then, she stepped onto the carpet that covered the small living room and ran down her hall to the bedroom.

She poured herself a drink, first, and as she leaned back, flipped through the channels on her tv to see if there was anything that could get her attention off the calendar that hung on the wall, with December twenty fourth circled. Only four days between today and that day. 

She really needed to pull the damn thing down so she’d stop focusing on it during her downtime.

She nursed her first drink through some reruns, then added more orange juice and vodka to the drink, dumping the contents down her throat.

It wasn’t often that she imbibed in alcohol, but she was hoping that it would give her some inspired idea to get her out of this impossible situation. The last time she had gotten good and drunk, she’d had a brilliant idea for the topic of her dissertation. That had been years ago, and she’d started working on it immediately.

But drinking like this had never helped her with her problems with men, nor the issues she faced with her family.

Still, she flipped through channels until she found a mindless tv show that she wouldn’t pay attention to, and nursed her screwdriver, trying very hard to not think at all.

In the last few days, the only man who had come to mind as a potential solution to her problem was the same one she’d written off every single night since she’d considered him. First, it wasn’t likely that he even existed. Second, if he did exist, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that he’d actually consent to something like this. Finally, how the fuck do you even call something like him to ask for a favor?

So, she sat there, drinking herself into a stupor and hating that she still hadn’t found a way out of this situation.

“You aren’t going to call on the Goblin King,” she told herself for the upteenth time. “You’re not going to do something that stupid, just because you don’t want to disappoint your father for Christmas.”

Still, what other option did she have? Who else was there?

She tugged her carefully braided hair over her shoulder, and started working her fingers through it, unwinding the braid between sips of her drink. Once her hair was free, she finished her drink and poured herself another one, trying to drown her thoughts and frustrations to silence.

Maybe she should just suck it up and tell her parents she had ‘broken up’ with her non-existent boyfriend, right before Christmas, and that it’d be for the best, anyways. Then, as usual, she remembered the looks on their faces every other holiday when she’d come up with a similar excuse why she wasn’t trying harder to give them grandchildren.

Toby, after all, had settled down with a pretty girl who had started popping out kids almost right out of the marriage bed. That wasn’t a kind way to think about her sister-in-law, but she wasn’t feeling generous, right then.

She didn’t understand why her parents wanted her to do the same.

She’d run out of orange juice before the first show had ended. So she poured herself a glass of straight vodka and lifted it to her lips. A brief laugh escaped her, as she imagined her parents trying to deal with the Goblin King. Her step-mother trying to deal with the charm and her father trying to wrap his mind around those pants that left very little to the imagination.

“Maybe I should,” she mumbled, staring at the glass and downing the entire contents. “What’s the worst that could happen? His royal tightness traps me in the faerie realms and I miss Christmas dinner?”

She scoffed, then a groan escaped her as she thumped her head forward against her coffee table. There was no way she was drunk enough to consider that a valid option. A glance at the now half-empty bottle and she wondered if she even had enough to get her to that level of complete stupidity. 

“What does it even matter,” she mumbled, pouring herself another glass. “What man in their right mind would come at the whim of a girl who’d rejected them.”

She knew the answer to that well enough without having to think about it. Her long line of ex-significant others told her that well enough. Even the ones that wanted to “stay friends” after they broke up with her didn’t actually want that. Some wanted to stay on good enough terms that she’d help them study or with their homework or papers. Others fancied that they’d get to be friends with benefits without the requirements for an emotional attachment, not understanding that friends are an emotional attachment for her.

That long list was, to be honest, the main reason she hadn’t even bothered trying to call on the Goblin King. A sigh escaped her and she looked into the glass, again, giving the quietest sigh. “For what it’s worth, I hope your holidays are going better than mine…”

The twist in her stomach made her realize that she hadn’t eaten, and that all this drinking was going to go to her head with prohibitive speed. Ignoring that, she downed the remaining fluid in her glass, and again poured more into it. It didn’t matter. She’d nurse her hangover, tomorrow, and she’d suck up her pride and admit to her parents that she didn’t have anyone to bring to Christmas dinner. She’d hope that they hadn’t gone through the trouble of getting a gift for any figurative boyfriends.

She thumped her head against the table, and groaned. “I wish the goblins _would_ take me away. _Right now._ ”

She wasn’t aware that she’d actually mumbled that, but she giggled and tipped over sideways. As if it worked like that. As if she could do such a thing just to avoid this stupid problem she’d gotten herself into. She sighed, pushing herself upright, pulling the vodka close to her and pouring herself another glass.

It was a fat chance.

She was so focused on her glass, she almost missed the glitter that fell in her line of sight and she wondered how drunk she was. She looked up and felt the room spin around her. She was really drunk. Amazing, that she hadn’t passed out, yet. She almost fell over, but a hand caught her shoulder and vivid blue eyes, one with a blown pupil looked down at her with a bemused expression.

She wasn’t certain if this was a dream or a hallucination. Still, she smiled, hiccupped and pointed at him. “You’re the Goblin King. Are you real?”

A puzzled smile played on his thin lips. “You’re quite drunk, right now, aren’t you?”

“I’m not drunk. I’m cone sold stober.” That sounded wrong, but she didn’t worry about that. Her body swayed a bit to the tinkling music she could just hear. With a wobbly hand, she lifted her glass to him. “Here, you should have some.”

She could see her glass sway and bob in her hand, and a gloved hand took the glass from her. Instead of taking a drink, he set it aside, his face looking terribly amused as he crouched down beside her. “I appreciate the offer, my dear, however faerie rules do not apply to alcohol. Perhaps some other time.”

She razzed him, reclaiming her glass and downing the vodka, the room spinning around her. 

That gloved hand held her steady and she looked back into his eyes. He still looked so wild and beautiful. She was probably dreaming, though, there was no way the Goblin King would just show up at her whim. Since this was a dream, she could say the thing on her mind, ask him for this favor in a way she knew she never could if she was awake.

“Be my boyfriend for Christmas.”

Surprise, maybe shock in those beautiful eyes. She couldn’t focus on it. His face blurred and she swayed towards him, and she felt gloved hands catch her before she smashed her face on the table.


	2. Hangovers and Goblin Kings

Sarah had expected the hangover when she started drinking the night before, and did she ever get it. The pain in her head throbbed with the pulse of her blood. The light from the crack in the window stabbed her in the eye when she opened her eyes to look at her clock. She flinched and gave a plaintive whine, rolling over and pulling her pillows over her face to block that light out. Just that brief flash made her already stabbing headache worse.

She was in her own bed, which was a clear improvement over the last time she’d drunk herself into a stupor, she decided. Not that she could remember how she’d gotten there. The last thing she remembered was watching reruns of mindless television and trying to avoid thinking about the problem she was drinking to escape. And today, she had the same problem.

A sigh escaped her and she considered sitting up. What was the point? She wasn’t expected home until the twenty fourth, which was now three days away. At least if she stayed in bed, nursing her hangover, she’d have an excuse if she didn’t answer the phone when her father called.

And he would call. And then she’d have to tell him that she’d lied about having a boyfriend and listen to his disappointment.

She was still considering spending the day wallowing in her own misery when a refined and highly amused voice broke the silence.

“I can promise from experience that the hangover will not improve unless you deal with it, Sarah.”

That voice, and the amusement she heard in it made her freeze, and with slow movements she pulled the pillow from her face, staring across the room. Sitting there, looking relaxed and reading in her chair sat the Goblin King, who was looking at her with an expression that was amused, if sardonic. He was dressed in a relaxed manner, wearing a loose cream colored shirt under a cranberry red vest and black trousers and boots. His hair was shorter than she remembered, but still wild enough she couldn’t tell if its mussed state was intentional or not. It looked like he had fussed it out of his face enough that it was staying that way.

What sort of stupid shit did she get into last night after she blacked out?

He glanced at her from beneath his dramatic brows, a smirk curving his lips. “There’s a glass of water on your bedside table. I recommend that you drink it.”

Her eyes shot over to her bedside and she saw there was indeed a tall glass of water sitting there, her phone unhooked from the jack in the wall, and two tablets of tylenol set beside it. She glanced back at him, unsettled, and trying with desperation to remember what had happened the night before.

That amusement gave way to a patient look that reminded her of an adult dealing with a recalcitrant child and his head shook. He glanced towards the water and then back at her, just waiting.

The water would, at least, deal with her parched throat. At the same time, if it was something he’d gotten for her, that meant she shouldn’t trust it. Still, she knew he was right, as well. She needed to hydrate, and the pills would help with the splitting headache.

“Do drink up, Sarah. We have much to discuss and little time with which to discuss it.”

Oh, sweet mother of fucking Christ, what the hell did she do last night? She took the cup with some hesitation, and the pills in the other hand. To avoid saying anything, she tossed the pills into her mouth and started drinking. At least if she was drinking, she wasn’t talking or saying something stupid.

The water cooled a path down her throat, and when she set it down, the glass was empty. 

She hesitated a long moment before looking back at the Goblin King. He’d set the book aside, bookmarked with his finger. That allowed her to see what he’d been reading and she wasn’t aware that she could be mortified for two very different reasons at the same time. Blood pooled in her cheeks and she swallowed hard.

That was a spicy romance novel she’d indulged in, and judging by where his finger marked the novel, he was well into the romance, and had browsed through at least one heated sex scene that involved things she had pretended to not be interested in with her boyfriends, because she didn’t trust them any further than she could have thrown them.

“On a scale of one to wishing away my baby brother to the goblins, how stupid was what I did last night?”

The smile that curved his lips showed his pointed teeth. His amusement made those vibrant blue eyes sparkle, and she thought she saw mischief in them as he stood and set the novel aside. “Talking in your bedroom is not an ideal setting for this sort of conversation. You get cleaned up and I’ll make you breakfast. We can discuss how stupid you might have been in your living room. Since that’s where the conversation started in the first place.”

As he walked out of the room, she took a steadying breath, getting out of bed. She closed and locked the door, trying to not think about the fact that Jareth must have put her to bed, last night. She swallowed hard, scrubbing her hands over her face and groaned, seriously considering hiding from her own stupidity back in the bed. She doubted it would make a difference. She wasn’t certain a locked door would stop him if he decided to come and get her.

Whatever she’d done must not have been quite a ten. She was still wearing the clothing from the night before. A baggy, festive sweater covered in poinsettias, her favorite jeans, even her socks were still in place.

She looked into the vanity, finding her face and hair were a mess, mascara smeared around her eyes, her hair in crazy waves from the french braid it had been in most of the day prior. A sigh escaped her and she grabbed a change of clothes and towel and headed to her bathroom.

So, it looked like at this point, she was breaking even at a five for now. She could work with that. It couldn’t be any worse than any other shit she’d gotten herself into.

She hoped.

She washed her face and brushed her teeth, took a moment to use the toilet and change her clothes. She considered taking a shower, but she wasn’t certain she was feeling that brave this morning. So, instead, she brushed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, trying to not feel underdressed in jeans and a t-shirt. 

She went back to her room and put her clothes in the laundry hamper, and tried very hard to ignore the novel he’d been reading.

He must have been using that to freak her out. There was no way he was reading that book ever since she passed out the evening before. An immortal fae king couldn’t find something like that interesting. Definitely just to get a rise out of her.

That decided, she stuffed the book into her drawer, and made her bed. She was procrastinating. She knew it. With a sigh, she headed out of her room, and paused next to her coffee table. The bottle of vodka was still sitting open on it, her glass tipped on its side. She shook her head, capping the bottle and picking it and the glass up, carrying it the short distance to the kitchen. She put the bottle in the freezer and the cup in the sink, trying to ignore the king who was standing at her stove, looking at her with amusement.

“For a little while, I thought you were going to make me come find you. An interesting inversion on our last meeting, I daresay.”

She braced her hands on the sink, feeling a little green from stress. "Just kill me and get it over with."

“On the bright side, my dear, you didn’t vomit, and it seems you kept your bad decisions behind closed doors.”

The endearment made her brain trip and land in a heap, but she shook that sensation away. 

As if her puking was a concern. She was more worried about anything she did while she was drunk. She shifted away from the sink, sitting at the small table. She took a moment to notice that her coat, scarf, and hat had been relocated to their respective pegs by the door, right next to her keys and bag. She didn’t remember doing that, either. She stared at the surface of the table, taking a deep breath. “What did I do?”

He turned back to the stove, and whatever he was cooking on it. It smelled delicious. “You wished yourself away to the goblins. You’re fortunate that’s not a service we provide. Although considering the state I found you in, I doubt it would have been appropriate for me to take your wish seriously.”

She choked, the words sending her into a coughing fit. No. She wasn’t that stupid. Or desperate. Was she? Had she? But why else would he be here, right now? She groaned, putting her head in her hands. “Okay, so that’s dumber than usual. Usually when I get that drunk, I just pass out.”

He gave an amused chuckle. “I was dwelling on problems of my own and that request was quite unusual. The goblins were trying to figure out how exactly that would even work, since the wisher was both the challenger and the wished away. I dismissed the goblins, who were still quite confused. You’re welcome for that. I doubt you’d have appreciated them besieging you last evening in your drunken state.”

That was the truth. She sighed, her head still between her hands. A moment later, a steaming mug of coffee was set down in front of her, along with her bowl of sugar and jug of milk. “Fair. And you’re right, being jumped goblins when I was drunk out of my gourd would have made a very bad evening much worse.”

He gave an amused snort. Of course, he managed to even make that sound dignified. 

“Indeed. However, since a summons was made, someone had to show up. When I arrived, you were already very deep into your cups with whatever that cheap alcohol you tortured yourself with. I admit I didn’t recognize you, at first. You are definitely not the same child you were when you ran the Labyrinth.”

She wasn’t certain if he was complimenting her or condemning her.

“Moments before you passed out you said something most curious. A request, which given my own situation, I thought might result in us being of assistance to one another.

He turned towards her once again, sliding an omelette onto a plate and setting it before her. 

She took a deep breath, doctoring her coffee and eyeing the eggs, wary. She wasn’t certain if she dared to eat them. The food would make her recover faster and she knew it, and she didn’t want to insult him. But at the same time, she still remembered that damned peach. “What did I say?

The smile on his lips didn’t help her nerves. She took a bite of the omelette, and he spoke with an amused expression on his face. “You asked me to be your boyfriend for Christmas.”

That bite flew out of her mouth in less than a second, landing on the table between them as she stared at him, the blood draining out of her head. Okay, that was definitely a ten on the stupid meter.

The Goblin King’s eyes flicked towards the bite of egg, and his lips twitched, amusement clear on his face. He picked up the bite she’d lost, and popped it into her gaping mouth, pushing it past her lips with a gloved finger. She started chewing just to have something to do with her mouth besides say something stupid. She could barely taste the damn food, but she swallowed the bite, and then hid her face in her hand, closing her eyes.

“Don’t...worry about it, Goblin King. I was feeling sorry for myself, last night and that was it. It’s my own fault, anyways. I fibbed and told my parents that I’d bring my boyfriend home for the holidays. Since I don’t have one, that’s proving difficult. I’ll just make something up.” She mumbled, staring at the top of the eggs he’d cooked. The smell was excellent, at least.

The sound that left him sounded like a laugh, and he pulled out the chair across from her, vibrant blue eyes searching hers. “And what would you say if I told you I found myself in a similar quandary and would be willing to barter, Sarah?”

Her eyes snapped to his face and she saw a smirk on his lips. She swallowed and looked him in the eyes. There was no way to tell if he was playing a nasty prank on her. No way at all. “I would say that that’s awfully convenient, your majesty.”

Sharp teeth flashed behind thin lips. “The deal would be simple. Any event requiring a plus one, or where one is heavily encouraged, the other party is that plus one.” He leaned back in the chair, looking comfortable in her small apartment.

“What even do you need a plus one for where this benefits you?” She asked, and then sipped her coffee. Damn, he was good - these beans were cheap, but this was the smoothest cup she’d had in years. She shook herself trying to pay attention to what he was saying as she heard his inhalation before he spoke again.

“I’m required to go to a few parties over the seasons. Yule, in particular, is an impressively big deal among the fae - new beginnings and all that. However, I have grown tired of these, and their obnoxious parade of women who think that this king has been alone for a shamefully long amount of time. I require someone who isn’t a known quantity, who has no mistaken ideas as to what this arrangement is. Someone who can feign interest where there is none.”

“And this arrangement is…?” She asked, between bites of the food he’d made.

“Convenient. Nothing more and nothing less. I get a shield, a woman who can act well when the situation requires her to pretend to be involved with me. And to reciprocate the situation, you get a fine specimen of a man who can pretend to be your lover during family engagements. If you wish, consider it a business arrangement. I’ll even have a contract drawn up.”

She looked him in the eyes, her own narrowing. This would be beneficial for her. Perhaps she could get that to overlap with functions at the school which required a partner as well. “Nothing fishy?”

“I don’t know how you expect me to answer that honestly, precious. I am Fae. We’re capricious by nature and we do so love our games. But trust me when I say that getting permanently involved with a mortal woman isn’t even in the realm of my agenda.” He seemed serious about that much, at least.

“And getting involved with a Fae man isn’t on mine,” she agreed. She looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup for a long moment, considering him. He seemed at ease, so she relaxed just a bit. “So, then, when would this first event be, anyways?”

Those sharp teeth showed when he grinned at her. “Tonight is the first night of Yule, so that should give you some idea of the timetable. I can provide the required garments and accessories. Hair and makeup can be handled in my realm, as well. There will be several, but I only planned to attend the first and last for this holiday. The evening of the twenty fourth and the day of the twenty fifth are yours if you’re agreeable to this. Any additional holidays or events in the future where you or I require a companion, a bargain can be struck again.”

She took another bite of the omelette to give herself time to chew over that for a little while. Then, she sighed, looking at him. “You have me at a disadvantage. I hate disappointing my father, and he would be if I didn’t bring anyone.”

He gave a smirk that was grim and amused at the same time. “I assure you, the desperation you feel is something I am familiar with. If I could avoid these parties altogether, I would, but I’ve been conspicuously absent for some time, now. The disadvantage is a mutual one.”

She sighed, and straightened at the table, extending her hand. “Alright, Goblin King. I’ll go tonight and we’ll see how this goes. If we can both live with it, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

His smile grew wider, and there was a strange light in his eyes.” Very well, Sarah. I’ll pick you up so you can change in a few hours. Do get some rest in the meantime. And enjoy your breakfast.”

She would have relaxed, but he paused for a moment, turning, and she saw that book she’d stuck in her drawer in his hands again. The smirk on his lips made her head light. “I’ll take this with me. It’s far more interesting reading material than is typically available to me. And I left off at such an... _interesting point_ , it would be a shame to not know how it ends. I’ll return it when I’m finished with it.”

Then, he was gone with a burst of glitter, and she sat there, blushing for a long time after he was gone. He'd stolen her book. And the implication he'd left her with was that he had gotten to one of the spicier bits.

In the end, however, she gave a quiet sigh of relief. Well, she had a date, at least. And it looked like her holidays were going to be more interesting than she expected. She just wasn’t certain if that was a good thing or a very bad thing.


	3. Presents and Party Dresses

Discovering that Jareth was a good cook shouldn’t have annoyed Sarah, but it sort of did. She’d finished the omelette he’d made for her, gotten a shower, and was working on finishing off the pot of coffee when her phone rang. She checked her caller ID before answering, and sighed, finding her father’s number. She picked it up, checking herself for telephone politeness.

“This is Sarah Williams,” she said, smiling and keeping her voice pleasant.

“Hi, sweetheart, it’s dad,” he responded.

“What’s up, dad?”

“I just wanted to make sure all of your plans were in order before Friday.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Yes, dad, I’ve got everything ready to go. The car was checked over last week, fluids topped off. I’ve got my cds ready for the drive. I’ve been packed for two days. Presents are ready to go.”

“You have enough money for the trip? This isn’t going to make things harder for you, right?”

A smile curved her lips and she traced the rim of her coffee cup. It touched her that these were his main worries, right then. She knew the boyfriend would come into the conversation eventually, but for now, he was just going through his own list of things, to make sure his daughter was taken care of. “Yes, dad. This isn’t going to strain my pocket. I paid my bills through the beginning of the year, already. I have enough dry goods to keep me if things run thin, and I’m expecting another check from my grant before the 30th. I’ll be fine.”

He sighed, she could hear it over the phone, the relief in his tone. “Okay. Good. I’m just worried. They’re calling for snow on the drive.”

“I know.” She took a long drink of the coffee in front of her. Damn, the coffee was too good to waste. Maybe she should put the rest of the carafe into a jug in the fridge for tomorrow. “We’ll leave here early and be there around midday.”

There was a pause on the line, and she knew he’d heard the “we” in her response. “You’ve not told us much about this man you’re bringing along.”

She pushed her hair over her shoulder, running water in the sink to wash her breakfast dishes and drinking glass from the night before. “Not much to tell. His name is Jareth.”

“Sarah, it would be helpful if we knew something about your mystery man, so we might get him a present. You can’t just give us nothing, sweetheart.” The frustrated disappointment in his tone was familiar.

She scrubbed the dishes, thinking for a long moment, then sighed. How the fuck do you explain a literal faerie king to your parents, anyways? “He always dresses very well. A tie or tie pin might not be bad. Or some cufflinks.”

“Well, what did you get him?”

That was a question she knew how to answer and stop further questioning regarding that. She hadn’t gotten the king anything. Thinking about it, she wondered if he’d wear a sweater. Still. “Dad, you can’t just ask your daughter what sort of present she will have gotten her boyfriend for Christmas. It will inevitably result in us not being able to look each other in the eye during Christmas dinner.”

There was a longer, pregnant pause from the other end of the line. “Oh. Right.”

She could almost hear the man blush, and knew she’d flustered him because he changed the subject in a prompt manner. “Toby, Mariah, and the littles will be here. Are you sure you want to stay at the house? It’ll likely be very cramped. If you need, we could put you two up in a hotel?”

She felt her own cheeks flush, and cleared her throat. “Dad, it’s fine. I know how to behave myself at my parents house. I’ll make sure Jareth is aware of it, too.”

“What sort of name is Jareth?”

Shit. She bit back another sigh and rubbed her forehead. A glance towards the clock found it was almost two in the afternoon, now. “He’s English, dad.” Sort of. Or close enough. “Don’t get weird about his name - Mom said you two almost named me Saffron River. You don’t get to judge.”

When her father spoke again, there was a wistful tone in his voice. “You really like him?”

That was the question, wasn’t it, she wondered? She wasn’t certain how to answer that. After all, she barely knew him. “Dad, you asked me to bring along my boyfriend. If you’re going to start grilling him about when he plans on making me a wife when you know what I’m dealing with at school, I’ll get very cranky. I don’t want to get cranky. Holidays are supposed to be happy times.

“He supports this decision of yours, then?”

She bristled. She knew her dad thought she was wasting her time with this. “He has expressed no issues with my choices.”

A smooth voice cut into her conversation, from behind her. “Bold words, my dear. I scarce know half the choices you’ve made since we first met, and it’s been some time since then.”  
Jareth. 

She took a steadying breath, deciding to end this conversation before her father actually heard him. “Dad, I’ve got to go, he’s picking me up for a Christmas party and I need to get ready.”

“Sarah -”

“I’ll call you before we leave on the twenty-fourth.” She hung up the phone, as quickly as she was able, a tired sigh escaping her. “Goblin King, you have got to stop just popping in on me like that.”

“Hardly popping in, Sarah. You did call me.”

She thought about it for a moment, turning to look at him with a frown pulling at her lips. He was dressed as he had been earlier, except he wore a familiar long coat. She remembered it from the tunnels, and her eyes ran over it for a short moment. “When was that?”

His lips twisted into a smirk that annoyed her. That flash of sharp teeth annoyed her more because he had a handsome smile. “When you declared there wasn’t much to tell a parent about me. You told him my name.”

She swallowed hard. “I didn’t expect you back here, yet.”

“So I can see.” His eyes ran over her, and his voice was far too amused about whatever he had heard of her phone call with her father. That made her feel nervous. How long had he been standing there, anyways? She’d been focused on the phone, but if she’d called him when she said his name, then -

“How long have you been here?”

This time, a laugh left him, and the rich sound made her brain stutter in ways she did not like. He walked over from where he’d been leaning on the wall of her hallway, moving towards her. “Since you implied to your father that whatever present you got me wasn’t one a father should know about. I am now quite intrigued by the gift giving practices between lovers in the above. Just what sort of gift would make a father change the subject so quickly?”

She felt color on her cheeks and she turned back to the sink, draining the water from it just so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes. “Not the sort of gift you’re ever going to get, your majesty. You’ll have to deal with a sweater or something like that.”

“Such a pity,” he laughed, his voice much closer, now. She glanced towards him, finding amusement sparkling in his eyes. He was teasing her, and seemed to be enjoying himself. It just annoyed her. “Very well, then. We must go. You’ve got a long night ahead of you, my dear, so I hope the remains of that hangover is well handled.”

When she turned towards him, she saw his hand extended towards her. She swallowed hard, and nodded, setting her own in his. “There’ll be safe food, right?”

He considered her for a moment, and she thought she saw something like respect flash in his eyes for just a moment. “I’ll see to it that you don’t eat anything imprudent, Sarah. You’re hardly of any use to me if you end up trapped in the faerie realms.”

She blinked at his wording and glanced up at his face. Then, her breath caught. The kitchen had given way to an impressive entryway. 

They stood at the base of two curved, black staircases that had a fountain set between them, water spilling down from the floor above, like a waterfall. She took a moment to look around, her hand still in his. Unfamiliar flowers and plants brightened the dark foyer, and an ancient tree stood tall between them and the front door. The ceilings were vaulted high, with murals painted above that would probably give her nightmares, but it was all beautiful. 

When she met Jareth’s gaze, he was smiling, and looking just a bit smug. His hand found her elbow, and he escorted her through a doorway she hadn’t seen, and down a side-hall. “Star-stricken, just by the building?”

“It was beautiful.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. “And since they don’t have goblins running about, cleaner than mine. However, you need to keep your wits about you. And,” When stopped in front of a doorway, he inclined his head, looking too entertained. “You realize you’re going to have to pretend to be smitten with me, yes?”

She arched a brow at him, stepping towards him and looking him in the eyes. “You realize you’ll have to do the same if you want this play to actually work?”

“You’ve grown more feisty,” Jareth said with a laugh “I think I like that.”

He opened the door in front of them, ushering her into the room. She felt the heat in her cheeks, and told herself that she was just warm, that his approval didn’t flatter her. “So, what is this function we’re attending tonight?”

“A ball. Since it’s the first day of a major holiday, it will be excessively opulent with episodes of debauchery occurring throughout. Lots of dancing, alcohol, drugs, and sex. Sometimes very public sex. Since you’re mortal, be on your guard. I’ve arranged for you to be here, and it’s in my best interest to ensure your safety. Others in attendance will not be concerned with that. As long as you stick close to me, you’ll be fine.”

“And I won’t have to participate in any of these ‘episodes of debauchery’?” She asked, turning to face him, her expression serious.

The sly smile he gave her was all teeth. “Only if you wish to, my dear.”

She gave him a pointed look, crossing her arms, voice firm. “I really don’t.”

He laughed again, and gestured to a side-door in the room. “There’s a dressing room for you there. I’ll be in here getting ready as well.”

“You’re not wearing that?” She asked, arching an eyebrow and giving him a once over. She told herself she wasn’t flirting with him, she was just getting into character.

His smile was infectious. “This may be suitable for a function at my own castle, since those are typically a more casual affair, but we’re not in the Goblin City. This is Gwales. Those here are exacting about how their royals present at their functions. I know my role here. And I know quite well how to dress for it.” He nodded towards the door. “Your gown is in there. Since you’re my plus one, we’ll match.”

She headed towards the door, pretending she wasn’t curious what sort of gown he’d provided. Then, his voice gave her cause to hesitate.

“And no peeking, my dear. If you peek, I get to.”

The teasing threat had every hint of sincerity. She turned, looking him in the eyes, and tilted her head. It was the same look she’d given other men who had tried to tease her like that. 

Again, her eyes raked over him, and she then turned towards the door, again. “Don’t worry. There’s no chance of that ever happening.”

“So cruel, Sarah.”

She paused at the door and looked at him. “Not half as cruel as I can be when it’s needed, Jareth.”

He went silent, and when she glanced back, he looked far too pleased with himself. She shook herself, closing the door behind her, and her breath caught. On a dress figure was one of the most exquisite dresses she’d ever seen in her life. Green lace and chiffon silk, full skirts that would sweep the ground. Jewels sewn onto the lace to catch the light and sparkle. It was sleeveless, and she saw that the back laced up like a corset with satin ribbons.

It was breathtaking.

She saw a basin and stepped towards it, washing her hands and drying them with care before she touched the gown, taking it off the dress form and lifting the bodice to her chest. She turned towards the long mirror and stared at herself. Then, her breath left her in a slow sigh and she swallowed hard.

He still knew exactly what sort of dress would make her lose her head, she thought.

The dress was flattering, and seemed to be made for her. The color was one she’d choose herself, and looking around she found matching accessories for her. Classic, elegant pieces. Timeless pieces.

She wasn’t certain if she liked that she was predictable enough that Jareth was able to get this ready in an afternoon.

Sarah shook that thought away, made certain the door was closed, and stripped out of her own clothing, leaving it folded and neat on the chair. She pulled the gown on, and pulled the corset laces enough that it would stay in place. Bless her practice in theater. It was easier when she had a hand to deal with things like this, but she could manage well enough by herself, most of the time.

Still, she found she’d underestimated the weight of the dress, and with a groan, she cracked the door between the rooms, to address the man in the other room. “Uh, I think I’m going to need a bit of a hand with the dress, not just hair and makeup.”

She heard Jareth moving towards the door and braced her shoulder against it just in case he got any unwise ideas. When he spoke, he sounded terribly amused with himself. “Oh, whatever is the problem, precious?”

She smiled a sweet smile that she knew would drip with venom when she spoke. “I can’t get this dress to stay up on its own. I’m going to need some help tying it so it will.”

“I could assist you, you’re aware.” She could hear his own smirk, and the lazy tone of his voice.

She ground her teeth. “Or, _darling_ , you could scrounge up a goblin or two who can give me a hand and help with everything I need to be presentable for this function. Because if you come through this door, you’ll be dancing with a limp.”

She heard him laugh, and then the snap of fingers. There was a cracking sound behind her startled her a bit and she turned, finding a short, round goblin looking up at her with bright eyes. It pushed the door shut and she heard a yelp on the other side and stifled a giggle. 

The goblin bounced around her once, then twice, then shooed her towards a chair. Then, it got to work.

Sarah wasn’t certain if the goblin was a ladies maid or not, but she was certain it knew what it was doing. It pulled the laces tight, it’s fingers flying. When it was finished, the dress was tight enough that it wouldn’t slip, but she could still breathe with ease. 

Once it was finished fussing with her dress, it went to her hair. She watched as it teased, twisted, curled and enchanted her hair. It wound braids in her hair, twisting them into an elaborate updo, and then, when Sarah was amazed at the results, it started pinning in matching green beads and leaves made of the same silk chiffon her dress was made from. 

When it started on her makeup, she was already amazed, but the skill the goblin had with a brush was what blew her away the most. It flipped around a bag and started pulling out paints and powders, shimmers and blushes that suited her coloring and went to work with skill and precision.

Iridescent shimmer was dusted over her cheekbones, collar and the swell of her breasts over the dress. A soft contour on her cheeks made the highlights stand out prominent. Soft pink pastels and violets and blues surrounded her eyes, the results subtle by eye catching. A brush of that same shimmer over her brow bone. Her brow shape was defined and darkened, lashes darkened, and Sarah suspected they’d been extended with magic just a bit. The lips were glossed with a shade similar enough to her natural lips it didn’t look colored at all.

Sarah didn’t recognize the woman who looked back at her from the mirror. This was an ethereal creature, suited to stand on the arm of a King. She didn’t look like Sarah Williams at all. Her breath trembled a bit as she stared for a moment, then she shook herself, getting to her feet. She found the matching slippers and gloves that went with her dress, and put them on.

The goblin stared at her with a toothy, mischievous grin. She crouched down to its level and gave it a warm smile. “Thank you. You worked incredible magic.”

It preened under her thanks and praise. Then, with another cracking sound, it vanished, leaving her alone in the room.

She took a steadying breath, eyeing the jewelry that Jareth had provided, taking that moment to appreciate the man’s attention to the details. Simple, elegant emerald chandelier earrings, a matching necklace with pear shaped drops of emerald around her collarbone. She didn’t look like a graduate student who had been hungover that morning. She looked like she’d stepped out of a damn fairy tale.

When she left the room, she found Jareth had already left the other. She gave herself a shake, and looked herself over one more time, then headed for the door.

Jareth, she saw, was talking leaning against the wall across from the door, talking to another man who was dressed similar to Jareth, but darker. Jareth, she noticed, wore a vest which matched the color of her gown, and a pocket square with the same hint of lace as well. His frock coat was darker, a rough, heavy black silk. His trousers were black and tight enough they barely concealed what they were supposed to. Rather than pay attention to that, she turned her back to close the door and make certain her skirt didn’t catch on the way out.

“Well, well. When Jareth told me he had a guest this evening, I didn’t expect her to be such a treat.”

She turned, preparing to meet the challenge. She squared her shoulders and lifted her eyes to them. She felt a moment's pleasure when Jareth looked at her and his smirk fell away. His eyes widened, and pupils dilated so fast it looked like they’d swallowed the iris of his eyes. He straightened against the wall, his eyes wandering over her. She wasn’t certain he was even breathing for a moment. It was almost like he’d been punched in the gut, just from looking at her. Her eyes flicked towards his companion, and when she looked back, she admired how fast he’d read her look and buried his own surprise. She stepped forward and gave them both a curtsy, her eyes lowered demurely.

When she lifted her eyes to Jareth’s again, a smirk was curving his lips and she saw the flash of his sharp teeth. “Allow me to present my companion for this evening, Lord Diarmuid, this is Lady Sarah. Sarah, this is Lord Diarmuid.”

She gave him a polite nod, offering her gloved hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Jareth’s hand came to rest low on her back, and she recognized a territorial display even without seeing the look on the Goblin King’s face. Lord Diarmuid gave Jareth an amused smirk, and lifted her hand, kissing the air above it. Then, he gave his full attention to Jareth. 

“Really, cousin? A mortal?” The man laughed. “They’ll eat her alive.”

She didn’t lower her gaze, but her smile turned cold. She could see the obvious appreciation in his gaze, but he was also laughing at her. She withdrew her hand, linking her arm with Jareth’s.

Jareth gave an indelicate snort, and set his hand on her arm, all of his sharp teeth on display as he smiled at his cousin. “Allow me to worry about Lady Sarah. She’ll be just fine.”

Jareth turned her away from the man, which she figured was good for Diarmuid, since she was pretty sure if she went for him, she’d tear this lovely dress, and then she’d be really mad. 

She took a deep breath and calmed her temper. “This bodes well for the evening.”

She knew her voice sounded sardonic. Jareth looked at her, as though surprised at her quip. Then, a smile curved his lips and when he spoke, humor rode his words. “Worry not, Sarah. Diarmuid is annoyed because he was hoping I would help shield him this evening by being alone. He’s without a companion, which means he’s going to be besieged by ladies and gentlemen vying for his attention, for the whole of the party.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, keeping a laugh inside. “I suppose that it’s lucky for you that you’ve got someone to protect you from some of them, your majesty?”

He gave another laugh, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “We’ll see how lucky I am as the evening goes on. Gird your loins, my dear. You’re going into the wolves den, tonight.”


	4. A Decadent Affair

After Sarah left that hallway with Jareth, he took her around the castle, on what amounted to a tour, though she suspected he was buying time so they could have a bit of a grand entrance after the ball ‘officially’ started. The architecture was beautiful, however something about the cold beauty chilled her. The gardens, however, were impressive and she was careful to stay far away from several plants that looked like they were straight out of the Little Shop of Horrors.

Jareth was charming, which wasn’t a surprise. She remembered well enough from her peach dream that he could be that. He was knowledgeable about things she wouldn’t have thought held an interest for him. He could name the flowers in the garden and did when she asked. 

He also seemed to be careful to avoid other people who were gathered in the halls and gardens, steering her away from them. 

She knew he wasn’t shy, but he didn’t seem to want to engage in them with conversation. 

Those people also took a look at them, and didn’t come near. What she noticed, however, was that Jareth’s reception of most of the people that passed was colder than her reception of most of her ex-boyfriends.

“So,” she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye and leaning close enough that she could keep her voice low. “Who exactly do you need me to be for this party? Doting lover? Airheaded bimbo?”

Jareth leaned towards her as if to hear her. She hoped that just made them look thick as thieves with her arm through his and them leaning close and whispering to one another. 

Then, he looked at her, and she saw warm humor in his eyes. “For tonight? I suggest you take your time to understand exactly what this arrangement would entail. Enjoy yourself as much as you can stand, which considering last night, I suspect is quite a lot when you manage to relax a little.”

She pouted at him and glanced at him from the side of her eyes. “You don’t need to tease me about that. And you’d better not tell dad when you meet him. He’ll start asking questions, and when he does that, it’s very difficult to get him to stop.”

The laugh that escaped him pleased her and she watched as his face changed when that happened. “Duly noted, precious. If I had to pick a role for you, a jealously protective lover might be the most effective. You have the benefit of knowing who and what I am, which is more than most here can claim. That gives you an advantage, and is beneficial for me, as well. Most will expect you to be easily fooled and just as easily led astray.”

They were heading towards the entryway again, and she could hear the water crashing into the fountain at the base of the stairs. “Good thing they’ll underestimate me, I suppose.”

“Indeed. However they may underestimate you, stay on your guard, and don’t stray from my side. It’s easy for a mortal to get caught up in the dance and end up trapped.”

She looked at him as he warned her and found she was far more at risk from looking at him. She turned her eyes towards the large double doors which led to the ballroom, finding them standing open. “Good thing I have you to keep me on my toes, then, isn’t it, your majesty?”

Before they cleared the doorway, he barked out a laugh, and looked her in the eyes. “Keep that cloak of sass, my dear. It’ll serve you well.”

When they entered the grand ballroom, the sound in the room seemed to stop, dancers frose, and she found every dancer on the floor had turned to stare at them. Those standing on the sidelines hid their faces behind fans and hands, whispers the only sound in the room for a time.

It was a good thing that Jareth’s steps didn’t falter, because hers had. His continued movement forward propelled her into the room with him. She felt his arm shift so that his hand rested at her waist, his other hand taking hers and guiding her across the floor. The sensation in her belly was familiar enough from when she’d been in theater during school. 

Stage fright, those initial nerves before she lost herself in the play.

Then, it died down and she felt a moment’s relief that she’d managed to keep her emotions from showing on her face as they moved past dancers and diners and -

She blinked for a moment at the people writhing in a pit of pillows, in various stages of undress and cleared her throat deciding to pretend she hadn’t seen anything there at all.

The whispering of the others in the room seemed to have done nothing at all to the king at her side. “Does it do your reputation any harm?”

“What?” He glanced towards her, interest in his eyes.

“Having a mortal woman on your arm, here.”

He found a pillar that was in a somewhat secluded part of the ballroom, and turned towards her, a smirk on his lips. “I am a king, my dear. That means I can do nearly whatever I damn well please.”

“And to hell with their delicate sensibilities?” She lifted her eyebrow at him and saw pleasure on his face from her verbal sparring.

He gave a shrug that wasn’t as careless as it looked. “Pretty much.”

She laughed, and met his eyes as she did so, setting her hand on his arm.

They wandered around the room, and Jareth secured them both glasses of champagne, assuring her that it was safe before she took the first damn sip. 

Music cued up and dancers fell upon the dance floor again. The spectacle reminded her of her peach dream and she glanced at him, considering for a long moment. He met her gaze, his lips quirked into a bit of a smirk, but she couldn’t tell if he was hiding how he felt or if his amusement was genuine.

“Something the matter?”

“The peach dream,” she said, and saw the way his eyes sparkled. A mask he’d been wearing, then.

When he spoke, his lips were very near to her ear, and she could feel his breath on it. It took some effort to focus on the words. “Still remember that, do you? Yes, it was based on a similar affair. Although, I admit, the fashion of the time was quite different. As quaint as the dress you’d worn was, then, I think this one suits you more, and flatters you better.”

She swallowed hard to clear her throat, knowing she was blushing. “Sweet talker.”

He leaned towards her, and the smile on his face had a predatory edge to it that she found she rather liked. No, no, she wasn’t here to get swept off her feet. This was business.

Did that mean they weren’t allowed to enjoy themselves, she wondered, and refused to lean away from him, meeting his gaze.

The voice that broke through was soft and feminine. “Oh, Jareth! We’re so glad you could make it!”

Sarah was nearly dislodged from the man who had one hand resting low on the back of her corset, and she found herself wondering when his hand had gotten there. She staggered, catching herself on the man who now had a pretty blonde attached to his other arm.

The woman was petite, delicate looking, with heavily coiffed blonde hair piled on her head and a dark look aimed right at her. She could see the woman was trying to hug Jareth’s free arm into her cleavage, giving her a baleful glare.

A man approached behind the woman and Sarah fixed her eyes on him for a moment. She felt something wash over her that made her nauseous and then a sharp, clean scent surrounded her and that something went away. Now that she didn’t feel like she was going to hurl, she took a moment to examine the man. Tall, dark and handsome, with a charming smile and a darkness in his eyes that would be easy to fall into if she weren’t so wary of men to begin with. His eyes were running over her as though she were a tasty treat. She felt herself bristle.

A glance towards Jareth found the man looking mild, but she saw tension around his eyes. She wondered at her ability to read his expressions so clear, but he looked like he had before he had set the cleaners on her.

If the other man and woman noticed, they said nothing about it.

So, she put on the mask of a protective lover, and lifted her hand, brushing satin gloved fingers on his cheek, and drawing his attention back to her. His eyes met hers and she saw a darkness swirling in them that was worse, even, than when she’d insulted him as a child. 

“Jareth?”

The woman clinging to his other arm glared daggers at her and she just kept her expression one of passive interest.

“Ah, of course.” The skill with which he disengaged his arm from the woman clinging to him, and turned so he was at her side, arm at her waist again was impressive. “Lady Sarah, allow me to introduce Queen Georgine and her consort, Prince Titian.”

The woman pouted, and moved to try for his arm, again. Sarah stepped forward and intercepted the move. Her hand slid into the woman’s, and she gave her a brilliant smile, shaking her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty. Are we your guests for the evening?”

The woman looked somewhere between stunned and outraged. Her pretty, young face was flushed, but she didn’t try for Jareth’s arm again. When she was certain she’d made her point, she turned next towards the man. Her smile had a cold edge, and she knew it. Men who looked at her like that had given her the nicknames she had around campus for a reason. She could turn on the ice as needed, and quite well. “Prince Titian.”

The queen gave an impressive huff, addressing Jareth. “Really, darling? A mortal woman? If you were that desperate for company, we would have accommodated you.”

Jareth’s hand on her elbow drew her back, and his arm slipped around her, resting in a possessive way on her waist. She saw the biting smile on his mouth, and looked back towards the woman, knowing that jealousy had its grip on the woman’s tongue. She set her own hand on her escort’s waist, looking at the queen and her consort.

“Is that going to be a problem, Georgine? I know it’s unusual, but it’s not unheard of. And I doubt you’ll find another mortal woman who can manage herself around this many fae dancers and not find herself spellbound.” His words were dripping with ice, aimed at the woman.

Sarah had a sneaking suspicion that he’d been dealing with her for a very long time.

“Very well, then, Jareth. Just be certain to keep your little pet out of trouble.” The woman wore a pout and looped her arm through her consorts, then flounced away without another word.

When they were gone, Jareth turned towards her, looking both entertained and gratified. “It would seem I was correct - you handle yourself just fine. Come, let’s dance. If we appear busy, it’ll be harder for any more of them to come over and feel out exactly how attached we are or aren’t.”

“Don’t want them to figure out that you’re escorting the woman who beat you at your own game?” The tease was low, and close to his ear as he escorted her to the swirling dancers on the floor. 

She felt a flash of pleasure when he barked out a laugh, as if he hadn’t expected the tease, and his arm found her waist, turning her as they joined the other dancers. When she stopped, she was facing him, her hand against his, her hand steadying herself against his chest.

Smooth bastard, too, she thought.

“Not to burst your ego, precious, but you aren’t the first to defeat the Labyrinth, my dear, and you won’t be the last. I’ll grant that the number of runners these days are few and far between, but I’ve seen many come and go.”

She wondered how many of them had been subject to the offer he’d made at the end. Instead of asking about that, she snorted, relaxing into him as he pulled her close. “So, then. Why me? You clearly had plenty of others here that would be interested in being your plus one. Or plus two,” a smirk curved her lips, and she glanced to the side and saw many eyes turned their way. 

The arm at her waist tightened, pulling her closer, and his lips came very close to her ear. “Sarah, while we’re on this floor, in this room, your eyes need to stay on me.”

Her gaze jerked to his at the low warning in his voice. She took a steadying breath, searching his gaze for a moment. “Because someone might try to spellbind me?”

His lips twitched. “Among other things. Alternately, they may realize that you are not spellbound and wonder why I would bring a woman who wasn’t under my spell here as a buffer between me and my own kind?”

“Why would you do that, anyways?”

His eyes lifted from hers, but she watched his face, regardless. His expression was aloof, but she got the impression that he was hiding something. “Now and then, even I can grow tired of the monotony of these types of ordeals. They are fairly constant, and you certainly have provided a different entertainment here than most are accustomed to.”

“Constant?” She would have bristled at the implication that she was here for entertainment, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. She was a distraction and she knew it. That was part of the deal.

His lips curved into another of his devastating smirks and his gaze met hers, direct and amused. “Wanting to back out of the arrangement, now?”

His voice was a low purr that gave her usually quiet libido an unexpected jolt. She ignored it. “You do realize that the whole reason I need a fake boyfriend for Christmas is because I don’t have time for men in my life, right?”

“So cruel, precious,” his voice still had that sexy purr and she wished he’d stop that. His smile was all sharp teeth. “What if I could promise all the time you need outside of these parties for whatever it is that’s causing such a disturbance in your social life? You could dance all night and still have plenty of time for whatever tickles your fancy.”

That was a tempting offer, and by the look in his eyes, he knew she was tempted. She narrowed her eyes up at him, but her lips curved into a smile that had a chill to it. “I wouldn’t call it something that tickles my fancy. It’s school work.”

That seemed to surprise him. His brows lifted closer to his hairline and his head inclined in interest. His eyes were sparkling, again. “Oh? Still in school? I would have thought you’d have been done with that ages ago. Is that why your father is so keen on my approval of your choices?”

She considered how to answer that. “For most, college ends in a person’s mid twenties. For some, like me, they spend a great deal of time pursuing higher education. I’m a graduate student, working on a doctorate in philosophy, and my dissertation is time consuming and...well. Heavier than many of my textbooks.”

Even more interest in his expression. “Philosophy? That’s what you’re studying with such vigor?”

She gave him a grin, and decided that for now she wasn’t going to answer. “We’ve discussed what I’ve been doing since the last time we met. What about you? Just snatching babies and going to parties?”

His laugh drew the attention of nearby dancers, and she realized with only a hint of dismay that Jareth was a fine person to just spend time with. He turned her on the floor, letting her change the subject, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before he pinned her about her dissertation and her doctorate again. He avoided her topic as neatly as she had avoided his, and they continued dancing both verbally and literally.

And she decided that for a fake boyfriend, Jareth was doing a better job at it than most of her real ones. That was both troubling and exciting, because it meant he’d do fine over Christmas, but she worried that when their play was over, she was the one who would come out of it feeling bruised.

She wasn’t certain how long he’d turned her around the dancefloor when she finally begged a rest, and he laughed again, leaning close to her.

“Darling, we must work on your stamina.”

The words made her cheeks heat whether she wanted them to or not, and he set a hand on her waist, escorting her to another section of the ballroom, where there were tables with screens for privacy. He waved down a waiter, and claimed another glass of champagne for her, setting it in front of her, and once the waiter was gone, a plate of cheese and crackers appeared before her. She blinked, looking at the small spread of food as Jareth slipped into the seat beside her.

“Had all this ready for tonight?” She asked, her voice dry as she lifted the glass and sipped the bubbly, arching a brow at him.

“Had all what ready?” He glanced towards her, genuinely perplexed.

She looked at him for a long moment, lifting a brow. “You were gone for maybe three hours, my time. And you’ve managed a custom fitted dress, with accessories, makeup that’s perfect for my coloring, safe food. Either you reordered time to have enough to manage this or some things were already prepared in advance.”

She was inviting him to tell her if he’d planned to ask her to rescue him from dealing with this alone, but she wouldn’t demand it. His eyes met hers and there was some speculation in them for a long moment. “In my defense, precious, I was able to start planning last evening, when you started this affair. I suspected you would find the situation beneficial as I did, so I saw no reason to not get started on it then.”

That was a reasonable line of thinking, but she wasn’t certain she believed him. “So, you’re saying that last night, well before I agreed, you made certain to have these things on hand just in case?”

“Pretty much.”

And if I’d said no? The thought didn’t leave her, because somehow, she knew the answer. She wasn’t certain she liked it, though. She took a drink of her champagne and saw him turning the stem of his, watching the bubbles rise through the liquid. When she had her thoughts straight, she looked at him and gave him a smile. “I appreciate the effort.”

He looked towards her, and his lips twisted into a faint smile. It looked genuine, so she took it at face value. “You’re quite welcome.”


	5. A Contract and a Bully

Sarah could have danced all night and not noticed the passage of time. Jareth had always been excellent as a dancing partner, even when she was fifteen, and even though that dance had been a dream. Part of the problem was that this area seemed stuck in a state of ever-twilight, so even the windows didn’t show any change in the hour. That reminded her more of the peach dream, how the only indicator of time’s passage was the clock that had allowed her to snap out of the dream.

When the party started winding down, he returned with her to the room she’d first changed in. His hand rested at the small of her back, and she was glad for it. She felt bleary-eyed and exhausted, and just tipsy enough to feel a little giddy.

Maybe that was why once they were in the room, she didn’t snap at him when she felt him pull the ties that held her dress up and start loosening them for her. She lifted her arms, holding the bodice in place so that it wouldn’t fall and she turned towards him.

He was looking at her, but didn’t reach for her or touch her further. A deep breath escaped her and she looked up at him, thinking for a long moment.

“Thank you,” she said, then turned and went back into the changing room where the clothing she’d worn here waited. She felt the weight of his gaze until the door was closed between them. Her back still felt hot where he’d touched her, but she was too tired to think much about it. So she changed into her own clothing, her fingers brushing over the gown as she put it back on the dressform. She decided she could worry about her hair and make-up, later, at her own home.

When she went into the other room, Jareth was wearing what he’d been in at the beginning of the night as well. Even he looked somewhat tired, though when she compared it to their meeting at the end of her run, she thought he was probably okay. She walked towards him, looking up at him.

The champagne had fuzzed her brain, but she wasn’t going to have another bad morning. For a long moment, she wondered how much he had to do with that.

He turned towards her, and she thought his eyes looked millions of miles away. “You’re tired, my dear. Let’s get you home.”

She gave him a smile, nodding her head. “I’d appreciate it.”

His hand touched her arm, slid down until his fingers laced through hers. The caress surprised her and she looked down at their joined fingers. His eyes were fixed on her face, and she found herself trapped by them. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but one moment they were standing in the faerie lands, and the next they were in her kitchen, almost exactly where they’d been when they’d left.

He didn’t drop her hand, his eyes still holding her own, bright in the darkness of her kitchen. “Can you handle it?”

She gave it serious thought, because he was asking her so seriously. Then, she gave a quiet laugh and shook her head. “Jareth, if that’s the most decadent and debauched the fae can manage, I’ve got some interesting stories from my earlier college years that I think would broaden their horizons.”

His lips twisted in amusement, and she thought she saw interest in them as well. It was the first sign of a smile that she’d seen since they’d left the ballroom and it softened the intensity of his expression. “I assure you, the mildness had less to do with a lack of creativity and more to do with their own surprise. They were not expecting a mortal there, and you played your part quite well. And, Georgine and Titian excepting, you played the part of a buffer quite well.”

“Wild guess, you were trying to dodge them, this evening and that’s why you wanted me along?”

He gave a brusque laugh, and she discovered that she liked it better when he smiled or laughed than when his face was so severe in it’s seriousness. Which was a thought that could get her into trouble, so she pushed it aside.

“After your brief meeting, do you blame me?”

She gave him a grin in return, then thought for a long moment. That took effort, she was very tired. “Are you wanting to do this contract signing tonight, or are you coming by tomorrow?”

She’d already resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t getting any more work done on her paper done until after Christmas, so it wasn’t like he’d be interrupting her. When she looked into his eyes, again, she found he looked a bit serious again. His eyes ran over her face, examining hers. She wasn’t certain what the tangle of emotions she saw in his eyes were.

His hand came to rest at her jaw, holding her face up so she wasn’t able to look away from his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and serious, with a dark edge that did things she didn’t want to think about to her libido.

“You aren’t afraid of me, are you.”

It wasn’t a question, not really. The intensity in those brilliant eyes made her breath catch just a bit and her lips parted just a bit. “What?”

“This morning, when you saw me, there was dread in your eyes. That had more to do with your own worries about what you might have done that you couldn’t remember. But there wasn’t fear.”

She blinked, surprised that he’d read her so well. She shouldn’t be, he’d always read her well. “Should I be? Are you planning to do something to hurt me?”

When he smiled, all she caught was a flash of his sharp teeth in the darkness of her apartment. He stepped towards her and leaned down, his lips brushing against hers. It was fleeting, just a hot caress of his mouth on hers, then gone. Her breath caught in her lungs, and she stared up at him through wide-eyes, but she didn’t back away from him. 

“What was that for?”

His thumb brushed a warm path along her cheek. “First, to thank you for your assistance this evening. Second, if we’re going to pretend to be lovers in front of your parents, you’re going to need to be used to things like that. Lovers kiss and touch one another. If you want to fool them, you can’t afford to get surprised when I’m nearby.”

It was a warning, she heard it in his voice. It made her swallow hard, but she refused to back away. “Some warning would be appreciated.”

“I’ll take that into consideration, my dear,” he laughed, and stepped back, his fingers brushing along her jawline as he did. “Rest well, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

He vanished as his fingertips left her skin, with the faintest trace of glitter.

When he was gone, her knees gave out and she landed on the floor with a thump, both hands covering her mouth. Her brain had screeched to a halt, stuttering over that brief kiss. How the fuck had she forgotten such a basic, stupid fact? The fae could be fooled, because they didn’t know her or her relationship with Jareth.

Her parents, on the other hand, thought they were dating, and knew her very well.

Shit, shit, shit.

That said, her parents were used to her being skittish and cold with men. In her experience, they wanted more than she could give. They wanted her to finish with school and not keep working on it, they wanted her to be available for sex, for cleaning, for them to unload their problems. They seldom reciprocated those responsibilities.

She hoped that Jareth didn’t expect that for a fake-relationship.

Thinking that brought the kiss he’d dropped on her lips, again and she swallowed hard, tracing a fingertip over her mouth, thinking for a long moment.

It was just two days. She could manage that for two days. 

Somehow, she managed to get to her feet, and walked to the sink, bracing her hands on it. When she caught her breath, she got a glass of water and drank the whole thing down, trying to focus on something other than the quick slide of lips on hers, the warmth of his hand on her jaw, the damn smell of him surrounding her.

Rest well, he’d said. How the hell was she supposed to do that when she was spun up over a silly little kiss?!

She scowled, suspecting he’d done it on purpose, and wondered if he was watching her reactions through one of his crystals, like he had when she’d run the Labyrinth. She shook herself, setting the glass by the sink and forced herself to head down the hall. Once she was in the bathroom, she washed her face, relieved that the makeup came off as easily as her own did. She realized, too late, that she was still wearing the stunning emerald jewelry he’d left her for it.

She thought he must have seen it, before he left. Why hadn’t he asked for them back? They couldn’t be cheap pieces, she was sensitive to sterling silver and white gold. She swallowed hard, pulling a small bowl close and setting those pieces in there, wishing she had a proper way to store the pieces. Then, she started unpinning the complicated hairstyle the goblin had fashioned, putting the beads and silk leaves in the bowl as well, so they wouldn’t get lost or misplaced.

When she went to her room, she carried the bowl with her, looking at the wealth of twinkling green inside it.

She brushed her hair and twisted the disobedient mess into a thick braid, focused on her evening routine. She swapped out her t-shirt for the over-sized one she usually slept in, and folded her jeans on the dresser before she climbed into her bed and hid under the covers.

Her brain kept turning that damn kiss over, and she knew she was blushing even now. Her brain wouldn’t shut up about it and she spent too much of the evening tossing and turning and trying to restrain the fifteen year old she used to be who had fantasized about what it would be like to be kissed by him.

It was close to dawn when she finally fell into an exhausted, restless sleep, still plagued by memories and dreams.

She woke to the smell of coffee, and she groaned. She climbed from her bed without thought and walked in a half-sleeping state down the hall to the kitchen. It wasn’t until Jareth turned and his eyes swept over her that she remembered that she was still wearing only the t-shirt she slept in.

That damn speculative interest in his eyes, and his brow lifted, lips curving up in a smirk.

She wasn’t going to grace him with a comment, she decided. She walked straight to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup, her tired brain deciding that if fake-dating Jareth meant coffee every morning, she could deal. She added milk and sugar, then sat at the table, still blinking and bleary-eyed.

“Well, well, precious. I didn’t think you’d be so comfortable with the situation this fast,” he quipped, still observing her. She blinked slowly, looking back at him. She saw a cup of coffee beside him, and saw he was standing at her stove, cooking once again. From the smell, he was making bacon and eggs. “Certainly not comfortable enough to walk out here nearly naked.”

She felt too tired to argue or get flustered with the assessment of her level of dress. “You’re the one who pointed out that if we were going to convince my parents we were dating, we’d have to be comfortable around each other. This is what I wear to sleep. So if you could wait until I’ve got a cup of coffee in me and have enough energy to hiss and spit a little, that’d be cool.”

“Would it?” He asked, bringing a plate loaded with bacon and eggs and setting it in front of her. His tone had a teasing edge, but he didn’t pursue it further. Instead of saying anything else, immediately, he took the chair across from her, observing her for a long moment. “You seemed exhausted, last evening. Why didn’t you sleep well?”

Somehow, she managed to not choke on the bite of eggs she’d just swallowed. When she was sure it was down, she gave him a withering glare. She knew she’d have to come out with some of this, eventually, but she wasn’t certain how much she wanted to say, right then. She sat back, pulling her coffee close and ignoring the food, for now. 

“Maybe you and your kind are comfortable falling into a pillow pit and screwing whoever falls in with them like jackrabbits. I’m not. I have been in a committed relationship with my doctoral dissertation that’s been ongoing for the better part of two years. I’ve slept on it, drooled on it, spilled coffee and food on it. I’ve even kissed the damn thing when I finished the first draft. But that’s been the only relationship I’ve been in. You surprised me, last night, and my brain decided to be a bastard and overthink it.”

Once again, that flash of interest as she spoke, but she refused to read into it. “That’s a long time to be without companionship, precious.”

Her cheeks started to heat up. She didn’t want to talk about this. She didn’t have much choice. A sigh escaped her. “Why do you think I’ve been lying to my parents at this point? They’re disappointed that I haven’t been ‘trying harder’ with what relationships I’ve had before that.”

“Why did you finger quote trying harder?” He asked with a smile that looked on the edge of perplexed.

“That’s what they call it.” She leaned back, tracing her finger over the rim of her coffee cup, hating this subject. She hadn’t spoken about these things with anyone, because no one ever seemed to understand. “They think I should be putting in more effort into my relationships, even if my education suffers. I’m taking steps that no one in my family has, before. This is a big deal for me, but they don’t understand. It’s so much work, even on my time off, I bring the damn thing with me just in case I have a moment to work on it.”

She took a long pull off the coffee, and looked him in the eyes. “My younger brother is working on his bachelor’s degree, my father spent eight years in school to become a lawyer. No one says a damn thing when they don’t have time for their families. It’s just me. Or that’s how it seems.”

He reached over the table, and his hand came to rest on hers. “Are they right?”

“That depends. If a person thinks that a woman is supposed to put in effort every minute of every day for her relationship, and men are allowed to put their careers first, then they’re right. However, if women are allowed to put things that are important to them first, then, no. Every man that tried to engage me in a relationship, I warned before I started dating them. I told them that I’m usually too busy with school to give them all my focus. They always pretend that they’re fine with it. Then, within a few weeks, they aren’t satisfied with how much of my time really is spent on school. I’m not drowning them in my affections every moment we’re together, I don’t call them every hour of the day. I make it clear that I don’t need them. They break up with me, make a few comments about my coldness, and a few admitted that they wanted the challenge of turning my eyes from my work.”

He scoffed, and lifted his coffee, taking a long drink before looking her square in the eyes. “So, you give the fools advance notice that they’re in competition with something that requires a great deal of your time, and they expect their cock to completely blind you to something you’ve put a great deal of work on.”

“Pretty much.”

He shook his head, standing, and she wasn’t certain what his agitation was aimed at, her or the men she’d dated. “So that’s what your father meant regarding my support of your choices.”

As she watched, he filled his cup of coffee again, and brought the carafe over, topping off hers without asking if she wanted more. He didn’t speak as he added a bit of sugar and cream before she could stop him. Then, he slipped back into his seat across from her. “Considering how many years my kind can spend studying for their field of choice, I wonder what your parents would think of that.”

The slight change of topic surprised her. She’d have thought he’d have considered pursuing the topic of her and her previous relationships. She blinked, lifting her eyes to look at him, again. Whatever conclusions he’d drawn from her story, he was keeping close to his chest. 

“Oh?”

The smile he gave her was sharp. “Indeed. Schooling starts for most as soon as you’re old enough to clasp a pencil in your hand, and depending on the field can go on for the next thirty to fifty years. Even the monarchs require lengthy study if they expect to actually inherit the kingdom of their parents. People intending to learn trades or skills spend their first fifteen or so as mere peons, learning the basics until they know them so well they can do them with their eyes closed. Another ten of a journeymanship, then five more to achieve a title of mastery.”

“And monarchs?” She asked, more curious about how that was handled than she expected.

“Similarly, you spend the early years on basic skills. Reading, writing, arithmetic, history. Before you’re allowed to move forward, your tutors ensure you’re skilled enough at those that you can focus on other skills, like diplomacy, courtly responsibilities, kingdom responsibilities, arts, sciences and magic. The last half of my schooling was spent hopping from court to court, learning geography and local cultures and traditions. I don’t think I spent more than five years at a single court during that time. In total, I trained for ninety years before I was allowed to be crowned in the Goblin Kingdom, and that was even with the goblins wanting me to rule them.”

Her eyes widened as he went through everything he went through. “So that’s why your face was so well known in Gwales.”

“Indeed. Georgine and her consort tried very hard to keep me there longer than five years, but they were a restrictive bunch, and I wanted to move on very early.”

She shook her head, and sighed. “Your family doesn’t complain that you aren’t working harder to make them grandparents?”

He laughed, a surprised bark that he lifted a hand to smother. “Of course not. My parents were the former king and queen of the Goblin Kingdom. They know when I’m ready to have progeny, I’ll do so, but they’re also aware that the responsibilities of the kingdom aren’t always as simple as other kingdoms. We have closer relations with the Above, due to the nature of our work. We’re also a revolving door of children. No, they know quite well that when I’ve settled, found a queen who can handle the amount of work required, and she and I are both ready, children will happen in time. I’m still in my prime, and I’m in no hurry.”

She blinked, surprised, then gave a quiet laugh and shook her head. “So you’re saying it’s been awhile since you were in a real relationship, too, and for similar reasons. That’s a damn weird coincidence, your majesty. The two of us in similar circumstances at the same time.” 

She finally lifted her coffee, worried it would be too sweet or too creamy, and was surprised to find it was exactly how she liked it. She glanced at him over the rim of the cup for a long moment, considering that.

He’d seen her dress her coffee twice before. And he’d taken a half-filled cup, and got it exactly right. That was a scary level of observation.

He tilted his head, his lips curving into a smirk. “Fate can be a bit of a bastard, yes. I found the irony of the situation entertaining. However, I’ll not deny that you seem to be precisely what I need for these celebrations. And if you can stand the intimacy with me for your parents' benefit, I assure you I can play my part quite well.”

She gave a sigh. “Then we’re going to need to get a story straight.”

“Story?”

She looked him in the eye. “At some point over those two days, my parents will separate us and try to pump each of us for information. The more we can cover over the next two days, the more of a fake life we can build in advance, the less likely that they find weak spots and poke massive holes in it.”

He met her gaze, and his lips curved further. “And we have to be able to feign intimacy well enough that they think we’re sleeping together.”

She felt that heat back in her cheeks again, and she rubbed the back of her neck to avoid looking at him for a moment. “Yes, that too.”

“In that case, my dear, I have a suggestion.” She glanced at him and watched him lean forward, snagging a piece of her bacon before she could object. She couldn’t help watch as he lifted it to his lips and ate it, clearly relishing it, or enjoying the fact that she couldn’t quite stop watching. “We have to actually sleep in the same bed before we go visit them.”

She sputtered, eyes shooting wide. She swallowed hard, setting her coffee cup on the table and trying hard to not think too much about what a bad idea sharing a bed with the Goblin King would be. It made sense, especially considering that she was uncomfortable with casual intimacy after how long it had been. A groan left her and she leaned forward, smacking her head against the table, several times.

Jareth was quiet for a long moment, but when he spoke, his voice held a thread of amusement. “Sarah, as evidenced by last evening, we work well together. Whatever this is, it needs to appear real enough to fool your parents. If you’d like, you can ground yourself on the fact that unless you ask me to, I don’t intend to fuck you.”

The word was obscene and unexpected, and she jerked upright to stare at him for it. She didn’t have any designs in that direction in the first place, so it startled her. His expression reminded her of that amusement he’d had in her parents bedroom when she was fifteen, almost patronizing, smug, sardonic.

“Alright, I didn’t expect you to put it quite that way,” she admitted when her brain stopped being stuck on him saying the word in his smooth tone.

He shrugged, then, with a wave of his hand, a thick sheaf of bound paper landed on the table near her plate. “The contract as promised.”

She looked from the plate of food to the contract and sighed to herself. “Okay. Food, first. Then I’ll start reading that.”

He got to his feet with his coffee, his expression not changing. “In that case, my dear, I’ll make myself comfortable and we can discuss anything about it when you’ve finished breakfast.”

She watched as he walked away, then pulled the plate of food forward, trying to not think too much. She liked that he didn’t ask permission, but she wasn’t certain why that was. A glance in his direction found him stretched out on her couch and she felt her face flame red when she saw he had the book he’d taken out and open, appearing engrossed in it. Forcing her attention to her food, she tried to not choke on it as she ate. She would do her best to pretend that she didn’t know that Jareth was reading an explicit and erotic romance novel on her couch that involved themes that previous boyfriends would never know of her interest in.

She finished the bacon and eggs, drank her coffee, and got up to get herself another cup. Before she sat down, she considered for a moment, then moved towards Jareth, lifting the carafe. “Do you want more?”

His eyes snapped from the book and met hers. There was that look, again, that interest as his eyes swept down her and back up. Then, his eyes focused on the carafe, and he gave a nod, extending his own cup towards her. “Please.”

She shook herself, trying to ignore the fact that he’d just thoroughly undressed her with his eyes and trying very hard to not think about what the speculative interest in his eyes meant. She topped off his cup and fled back to the kitchen table, trying to not let her retreat look hasty regardless of the speed.

Jareth’s awareness of her interest in subjects of pain and pleasure were safer, she thought, than her boyfriends knowing about it. As weird as it was, she trusted him to keep his word. Unless she asked for it, he wouldn’t step outside of the contract that sat on the table. She shivered, pushing that thought and the fleeting memory of the kiss the night before from her mind, pulling the contract close and reading.

His hand was clear and concise, not a stroke of the pen wasted, not a single word second guessed. Regardless, the legalese reminded her of a few of the theses she’d helped grade for her professors. It was just as long, as well. The arrangement itself was simple, but he seemed to have considered everything. A fair bit of it was consequences if either side violated the terms of the arrangement. Other sections were regarding changes to the contract, if it came to that, contract extensions, if they were needed, and finally the signatory page.

By the time she reached that point, the words were bleeding together, and she couldn’t focus on them. Her third cup of coffee was almost empty.

She got to her feet, pouring herself another cup, and went to her school bag, digging through to find a black pen. When she turned back, she found Jareth’s eyes on her again. She gave herself a quick shake and went back to the contract on the table.

“You seem distracted, my dear? Is something wrong?”

“I’ve had an easier time reading people’s master’s theses for grading than I’m having with this contract. I’m on my fourth cup of coffee, didn’t sleep well, and the words are bleeding together.”

He glanced at the clock on her wall, and got to his feet. “It’s also been three hours since you finished breakfast. What do you want to eat?”

She blinked, looking at him. “Eat?”

He paused, giving her another one of those patient looks. “Yes, my dear. Eat. Humans need to do that regularly to maintain their energy and health. My kind do it more for pleasure than anything else, but even we require some sustenance.”

She wasn’t certain how to explain to him that she only ever ate once a day most days, because she’d get distracted or forget. In fact, she’d had more food yesterday between the omelette and the food he’d given her at the ball than she’d had in a day in several months. 

“Oh, I’m not -”

“What part of that sounded optional, my dear? You’re going to eat something.” He swept past her into the kitchen, going through her cabinets and finding her bread and peanut butter. He paused, giving her a long look that was just on the edge of bossy. “Perhaps your father’s desire for you to have a lover has more to do with you needing a keeper, as opposed to his desire for grandchildren.”

She flushed, sputtered and started to get to her feet. “Jareth -”

“Just sit down and relax. I’ll make you a sandwich.”

Pushy and bossy to a fault, she noted, feeling her lips pinch. She wasn’t certain if she liked being steamrolled in her own apartment, but he wasn’t leaving her room to wiggle around it. She flopped back in her chair and frowned. “I don’t eat very often. It’s not a big deal.”

“My dear, this isn’t a discussion I’ll have with you. I’m making you something to eat. Plan on me taking you to dinner tonight - call it a fake date if you wish, we still need to work on that story of yours. Before dinner, I’ll need to go and check on my kingdom and make certain my goblins haven’t gotten into too much trouble without my constant supervision.”

At least she’d have some time today without him being bossy and insufferable, she thought, giving him a sour look. Still, it was a sort of nice change of pace. Usually, if she wanted to eat, she’d have to pull her attention from her work to take care of herself. And here he was, doing that without complaint. “You’re a bully.”

“Not a bully - a King.” He turned back towards her, his gaze meeting hers and looking entirely unrepentant. “And I expect you to listen."

She bristled at that and was still bristling when he brought her the sandwich, setting it on the table in front of her. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “I’m not a damn child, Jareth.”

He leaned forward, one hand on the back of her chair, the other resting on the table, almost trapping her there. His lips twisted into another of those sardonic smiles, then his eyes ran up and down her, once again. “Do tell, Sarah. I hadn’t noticed.”

His tone made her bristle, but before she could respond, he straightened, walking away. She was still muttering when he returned, setting a glass of water in front of her.

She glared at the sandwich, and pouted when her stomach actually growled. With a huff, she turned towards the food, giving it her attention. “I don’t need a keeper. I’ve been living on my own for years and I’m doing just fine.”

“I never said you did, I said that might be what your father thought. But if I’m going to be your significant other - pretend or not - then you need to understand that I will still be the keeper you don’t profess to need. At least for the duration of this arrangement. That means you will eat regular meals, get adequate sleep, and if you have the sniffles, I’ll make you rest as well.”

“I can’t afford to rest, I have school.”

His smile was that patient one, again. “What part of my ability to literally reorder time if needed is confusing you?”

She stopped, remembering that from their conversations the night before and she looked at him, eyes narrowing as if she could see if he was being serious. Damn him for sweetening this deal with that. Rather than arguing, she picked up the sandwich, taking a bite and glaring at him over the bread.

The ripe bastard laughed, again, but his smile was so handsome, she found she couldn’t even get angry with him for it.


	6. Car Rides and Christmas Dinner

“Precious, you _are_ aware that I can transport us to your parents house without the hassle of you driving while exhausted in inclement weather, yes?”

Sarah had just hung up the phone with her father and she turned towards the Goblin King, her lips twisting into a bit of a frown. “Yes, your majesty. I was aware of that. However, it will look really weird if we show up without a car and my parents will start asking a lot of questions I am not ready to answer.”

She didn’t bother reminding him that she wouldn’t be tired if he hadn’t been treating her as a beloved teddy bear all night. Her bed was a full, but she barely slept a wink with the king cuddled up next to her in it. She knew she shouldn’t be trying to make a six hour long drive across state lines to her father’s house, but she had no choice if they were going to get there on time.

She reached for the bags, but before she touched them, Jareth had them, and a frown on his face. “You’re in no shape to drive, Sarah.”

She knew that. “I’ll be fine once we start driving. I can’t fall asleep behind the wheel, regardless of sleep.”

He was looking down at her, slightly, the frown pulling harder on his lips. He was pretending to be her boyfriend well enough that she was starting to feel every damn thing that chafed against her when she was in real relationships. “Even if you’re certain that you can do it, I don’t like it. Don’t expect me to.”

It took a moment to get herself to calm down. When she spoke, her tone was clipped and she knew they both heard it. “I don’t, Jareth. I expect you to let me do it anyways. If you think I need to take a nap when we get there, I’ll take one after lunch.”

His eyes searched hers for a long moment and she thought she saw genuine, masculine pleasure in his eyes for a moment. When he leaned close, her knees almost went out. “I’ll hold you to that, my dear.”

She swallowed hard, meeting his gaze and his challenge without words. Then, she turned and picked up the box of presents she had for her family. “Then let’s go.”’

Tucked in that box was a present for Jareth that she’d managed to sneak out and get gift-wrapped when he was off at his kingdom doing king things. There were also presents for Toby and his wife, the littles, and her parents. But the one she got him was the reason she didn’t want him carrying the box.

The trip down the stairs almost made her wish she’d taken him up on his transport option. It also made her relieved that she wasn’t stuck handling the bags. 

As soon as the door to her apartment opened, Jareth had settled on a glamor that hid what he was. It was the second time she’d seen him with one, and she realized that he had an excellent eye and awareness for modern fashion. That night, he’d worn an exquisitely tailored dark grey suit with a black shirt. No tie, and the top two buttons were undone. 

Today, he wore jeans that fit slim against his legs, a wine red sport coat with a graphic t-shirt beneath. Over those he had a wool long coat and scarf. His hair was pushed back from his face, hanging over one eye in a rakish sort of way. It was still weird, seeing him with a glamor to hide how he looked, but she knew he had only hidden the most obvious parts that showed he wasn’t human.

When they reached her car, she unlocked the truck so they could unload their burdens and before she could even turn to go back and get the next load, the rest of the luggage just appeared in her trunk. She blinked and looked at the Goblin King who was now leaning against the passenger side of the car, looking at her over the hood. He looked smug and pleased with himself, a smirk curving his lips. 

“Your paper is in there as well, not that I think you’ll have time to work on it. And the door is locked, so we can go.”

The look on his face drew a smile of her own out and she shook her head. A brief perusal to make sure everything was there, and she did find her messenger bag tucked between others. He’d really thought of everything, didn’t he?

“Okay. That was cool”

His smirk broadened and he managed to look even more pleased. He opened the passenger door and climbed in, while she closed the trunk and made sure it was secure. She went to the driver’s side of the car and climbed in, buckling her seatbelt. Then, she looked at him.

“You too, Jareth. I’m not getting a ticket because you’re immortal.”

“Not immortal, precious, just long-lived,” he said, but he reached over his shoulder and pulled the harness over his chest, frowning at it in distaste. “I wonder what I should expect in return for dealing with this indignity.”

She rolled her eyes, starting the car. She rubbed her hands together, setting them on the vinyl and wincing at the chill. “We can discuss that later.”

“Oh, I count on it, my dear.”

She glanced at him and saw he was leaning on his fist and looking at her with a raised eyebrow and that smirk on his lips. She gave a quiet cough and bit her lip as she pulled out of the parking space and headed towards the highway.

Within the first hour of the drive, fat, fluffy snowflakes started falling and she was forced to slow down some so they wouldn’t end up off the road, waiting for a tow truck. The trip was quiet, although Jareth seemed to take great enjoyment from flipping through her collection of discs and changing them out whenever it struck his fancy. There weren’t many albums he let play through completely, though he seemed fond of her new agey stuff and her classic rock. She found that entertaining and started guiding his selections, eventually leading them to discussing her musical tastes.

When they stopped for gas, she took a toilet break and considered grabbing a coffee. She suspected she’d just find herself disappointed because she was starting to get used to Jareth’s. Instead, she got herself a pop and a bag of chips and was considering what to get him when he appeared beside her, snagging a Little Debbie snack cake.

“No coffee, my dear?”

She gave him a baleful look. “I’m getting spoiled with yours. I don’t think I can drink the stuff here unless I was really desperate. I’m not, right now.”

“Are you saying that I’m spoiling you, Sarah? With coffee?” There was a pleased look on his face that was getting more and more familiar, and she turned, looking him in the eyes. As she watched, he got himself a small cup, and after giving it a sip, she watched him add sugar, cream and a pinch of salt to it, and when he sipped it again, he nodded in agreement. “It’s not the worst I’ve had, but yes, mine is better.”

She scoffed at him, and took their spoils to the register. She was fishing out her wallet when Jareth produced what looked like a gold card with the embossed name “Jareth King” on it. The payment was approved and she gave him a speculative look. She wanted to ask, but she didn’t until they were both back in the car and on the road again. “Is that a real credit card?”

“After a fashion, yes. The transference of currency between realms is complicated since gold stopped being the preferred method of payment, so we developed ways to allow us to utilize our own currency while in your realm. Even we find an advantage of having a simple currency if we end up stranded in the Above and require it.”

That explained how he was able to pay for their dinner the other night and raise no suspicions. She considered trying to wrap her mind around a currency exchange rate between here and the Underground and decided it wasn’t worth the headache. Instead, she got her car back on the road and tried to concentrate on that, rather than esoteric things like Jareth having a genuine credit card.

They managed to stay on the front edge of the stormfront, so the drive down wasn’t as bad as it could have been. When they pulled up to her childhood home, she looked up at it. It was always kind of frightening, introducing someone as her boyfriend to her immediate family. 

Whether this ended up exploding in her face, however, that wouldn’t happen tonight, she thought. But she wasn’t looking forward to going through whatever tonight ended up being.

Jareth’s hand on her lower back startled her, even with all the touching she’d been getting used to over the last two days. “Sarah, are you alright?”

She couldn’t explain all the complicated feelings going on inside of her right then. So she looked up at him, and forced herself to smile. “Yeah.”

Jareth’s hands framed her face, warming her chilled cheeks and she found herself looking up at him while his eyes searched hers. He looked like he knew she wasn’t quite telling him the truth. Still, he simply gave her a soft kiss on the lips before he drew back.

“We’ll discuss this later, too, I think. For now, my dear, I suggest we get those packages inside the house before the clouds really open up.”

She nodded, and he gave her a grin that was all mischief as he snagged her car keys from her hand. She followed him around to the trunk, taking the box of presents out. Then, he shooed her off to the door while he continued pulling out the luggage. As if he understood that she’d need a private moment with her parents.

The consideration that implied made her heart twist in a painful sort of way. None of her real boyfriends had ever given her a fraction of that.

She rang the doorbell and the door flew open. Her father stood there, looking her over for a moment, and then pulled her into a tight hug.

“I saw the storm on the weather report and we were worried you wouldn’t make it before it broke.”

She hugged him back, closing her eyes, taking a moment to enjoy being a daughter before she set him away from her. “I said I would.”

“And you always were one to keep your promises.” He acknowledged with a smile. Then, he took the box from her and set it inside the front door. When he straightened, she noticed he was eyeing the porch behind her. Looking for Jareth. “So, where’s that boyfriend of yours?”

She grinned. “He’s unloading the trunk.”

She watched as her father put on his heavy coat and headed out into the snow and mentally apologized to the Goblin King for siccing her father on him. Still, she headed inside, taking off her coat and scarf, accepting the hugs from her brother and his wife, and finally her stepmother. As she straightened, she heard a quiet, pleased gasp from Irene, and turned, finding Jareth following her father into the house. She glanced at them and found all three looking at him with surprise and interest. 

She moved towards him, taking one of the bags and turning back. “Everyone, this is Jareth. Jareth, this is my dad, Robert, my mother, Irene, and my brother and his wife, Toby and Mariah.” A glance towards the man at her side found him looking Mariah over for a long moment, but the speculation in his eyes had little to do with interest and she got the impression that she saw the faintest disapproval aimed at her brother of all people. That surprised her, but she didn’t ask.

Instead, she looked at Mariah, lifting a brow. “Matt and Emily down for naps?”

Mariah nodded, and Sarah noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and a look that wasn’t quite joy. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she suspected she was going to have to talk to her brother about stepping up and helping the young mother out. And probably giving him the talk he should have gotten from Irene and Robert about using prophylactics.

Matthew was a little over a year, and Emily was two months old. Toby and Mariah had only been married for about two years, and the stress around her eyes shouldn’t be there, already. Not if Toby was helping her.

Jareth nodded politely, offering his hand to them, giving each a firm handshake. His other hand remained low on her back. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all, Sarah has told me much about you.”

After introductions, everyone moved inside from the doorway, and Robert helped her and Jareth take the bags to her old room. She saw Toby taking the box of presents into the living room to put them under the tree, knowing the snoop would be shaking packages.

Her old room had been remodeled ages ago, which was a small blessing. Her old toys had been packed away in boxes as soon as she’d moved out to go to college. At least she wouldn’t have to endure Jareth’s teasing when he saw the figurines and toys laying around. Now the room was far more simple, had the sterile look of a room that wasn’t lived in often. Once the bags were dropped off, Robert left them to get settled in, although he was still giving Jareth suspicious looks.

Once her father was out of the room, Jareth glanced towards her. “Nerves from visiting your family, my dear?”

She gave a bit of a shrug, sitting on the edge of the bed. “It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?” He gave her a pointed grin, and set the luggage aside. He waved a hand and a crystal formed on his fingers and he tossed it to the bed. When it landed, it burst like a bubble, and she saw her messenger bag sitting on the bed beside her. “Your father told me I should leave it in the car.”

She set her hand on it and gave him a smile. “Well, thanks for making sure it made it in, anyways. Though I think you were right about me not having time to work on it. I’d kinda resigned myself to that a few days ago.”

He leaned towards her, a smirk on his lips, and with a gesture, another crystal rested on his fingertips. “Oh? So certain of that, are you? Even knowing I could give you all the time you wished?”

The offer startled a laugh out of her, and Jareth looked very pleased by that. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. She saw his eyes focus on her lips, and then lift to hers, that sharp smile still in place.

She saw a shadow shift in the hallway and she shook her head, gesturing towards the door behind him with her chin. Jareth glanced over, and flicked the crystal away with a fingertip and it vanished. Then, he moved towards the door and leaned against the frame. From where she sat, she could see him giving someone a charming sort of smile.

She heard Irene sputter a bit, and bit back a giggle. It was somewhat refreshing to see him happen to someone else, now and then. Then, she got to her feet, tucking her school bag away between the luggage so it wouldn’t be easily noticed. There’d be time after Christmas for work.

“Sarah, your charming mother says that there’s lunch ready downstairs.”

Irene made a sound that was somewhere between surprised and pleased and Sarah rolled her eyes, following him out the bedroom door. Jareth offered them both an arm, and she found she rather liked watching her stepmother flush in embarrassment. They both accepted the escort, and when they reached the table, Jareth pulled out a seat for her.

She could feel her father watching them as Jareth took a seat beside her.

The lunch spread was modest, compared to what she knew dinner would be. Hearty sandwiches, cheese and fruits. Jareth spent much of the meal leaning over and teasing her about whatever came to his mind. It made her blush more than once while she was eating, and she knew that it was at least in part for her family’s benefit. Still, he’d always been good at getting a rise out of her. More than once he’d earned a sharp elbow in his side.

She watched him as he ate, and her lips twitched. She had learned in the last few days that he ate for pleasure more than anything else, most of the time. He was putting on a good show for her family, and that’s what mattered, she told herself. Still, towards the end of the midday meal, she found her energy failing her and every bite took considerable effort.

Jareth noticed and when he looked towards her, she saw the look in his eyes change from charmer to king. When he spoke, it wasn’t a whisper, it was loud enough that her family could hear him.

“Sarah, my dear, you need a nap.”

Robert and Irene looked at him in surprise, and then towards her as if expecting her to explode. She’d never been the napping type. 

“Is everything alright, Sarah?” her father asked, concern clear in his eyes.

“I just haven’t slept well in a few days,” She admitted.

“Which is why she said, before we left, that if I thought she should take a nap after lunch, she would.” Son of a bitch, he’d cornered her into it. She almost elbowed him in the ribs again, and he leaned over, speaking close to her ear. “You might as well tell them it’s my fault that you haven’t been sleeping well, my dear.”

She flushed red, because even though he’d said that to her, he hadn’t done much to lower his voice. A glance towards her father found his face reddened from temper, Mariah and Irene were blushing, and Toby was smothering a laugh. The prick would laugh.

Before anyone else said or did anything, Jareth got to his feet, offering her his hand. “Come along, my dear. I’ll get you tucked in.”

She got to her feet on her own, not taking his hand and using that to let him know he’d annoyed her. He looked unrepentant as usual.

“You’re a bully, Jareth,” she said, making sure the whole table heard her, too.

“And you’re stubborn and willful, often to the point of personal harm,” he smirked, setting a hand low on her back and escorting her towards the stairs. “Besides, remember? What’s said is said.”

Once they were in her room, he shut the door and she stood there, tired and worn from the drive, the repeated sleepless nights and from the nerves from coming home. She flopped down on the bed, still dressed from the road, and Jareth came over, crouching by her feet.

She blinked in surprise and shifted so she was looking down towards him and tried to ignore the way her libido slapped her at the sight of him on his knees like that. As she watched, he took her shoes off and set them aside, where they’d be easily found later. Once they were off, he looked up at her from beneath his brows, and got to his feet.

“The first act has gone well enough, my dear,” he said, his voice quiet. “You’re exhausted, and you need the rest.” He pulled a throw blanket from the foot of the bed, and helped her shift so her head rested on the pillows, tucking the blanket around her. As he looked down at her, his hand came and brushed her hair back from her face, and she felt a wave of exhaustion settle over her.

She gave him a half-hearted glare, and he just smiled in answer. “You put a sleep spell on me. That’s so not fair.”

“You say that so often. I wonder what your basis of comparison is,” he teased, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, a smile on his lips. His fingers stroked through her hair, the touch soft and soothing. “Just sleep, Sarah. You’ll feel better for it.”

Then, he leaned down and brushed a kiss against her lips. She gave a sigh, starting to drift off. She couldn’t even manage a coherent response, right now. So when she woke up, she’d give him hell for this, then.

A familiar sounding squall broke through her sleep, startling Sarah awake. She bolted upright, looking around and freaking out. Then, her brain realized the sustained nature of the cry meant it was from a child, and a very unhappy one at that. She got to her feet, shaking off the last dredges of her exhaustion away and headed out of the room and down the stairs.

There, she found a very panicked Toby trying his best to calm down two infants crying their eyes out and very clearly unhappy with the situation. Mariah was nowhere to be found, so she hoped that her sister in law was laying down taking a nap, herself. She could see the indicators of stress in his expression, the confusion that caused the panic, and she heaved a sigh. Walking straight towards him, she reached out. “Give Matt to me.”

Her brother gave a groan, and shifted, so she could take the older child. Scooping one hand under the child’s bottom, she propped him against her shoulder and started walking him, giving him a gentle bounce as she did. As she walked, she saw Jareth come out of a side room that had a couch in it, and Irene followed him. Her father sat on the couch, pretending he didn’t see Toby still struggling to quiet Emily as he read the newspaper.

She watched Toby struggle a bit longer, and shook her head, lips growing taught. She seriously considered going and getting Emily, too, especially since Matthew had started to calm for being propped against her chest.

Before she could, Jareth scooped the other child out of Toby’s arms without asking. He held the child against his chest with practiced ease and Sarah felt her heart skip a beat. Toby groaned out a relieved ‘thank you’, and disappeared into the side-room she suspected Mariah was napping in.

If her ovaries were capable of exploding, they would have. A glance at Irene saw that her stepmother must be having similar issues, her eyes wide as she watched him.

Jareth walked the floor, softly crooning to the little girl, who seemed to have found his hair fascinating, clasping fists trying to grab it. His hand supported the girl’s neck, and he had her fussing calmed in moments. The dirty cheat seemed unaware of their scrutiny, all of his focus on the child in his arms. She wondered, for only a moment if he was like that with all the children he ended up taking when they were wished away.

Irene caught her eye and gestured towards the kitchen with her head. Sarah nodded, understanding the silent request to join her, and started walking that way, bouncing her nephew as she walked. 

“What are you fussing for, little man? Huh? You got some complaints?” she asked the baby who had settled down to mild whimpers. Once she was in the kitchen, she paced it, waiting for Irene to join her.

She took a deep breath as the other woman walked in, readying herself to get grilled by the woman regarding Jareth.

At first, all the woman did was walk to the sink and get a glass of water, drinking it in one go. When she set the cup down, she fanned her face a little bit. “Oh, my.”

Sarah felt her lips twist in amusement, biting her lower lip to keep from laughing at the reaction.

When Irene got herself under control, she looked at Sarah, her expression telling Sarah how deep in thought she was. By now, Matthew had quieted and was chewing his fist in earnest. “How long have you known him?”

She leaned against the counter, stroking her hand over the child’s back. How the hell to answer that. “A little while. Why?”

“He seems…” She looked like she wasn’t even certain what she wanted to ask. “He decided Mariah needed a nap, too. Got her settled in the side room, while Toby took the kids. He tucked her in and she was asleep before we left the room.”

That sounded like him. Dirty cheat probably used a sleeping spell on her sister in law, too. “He can be pushy to a fault, but he’s good at making what he’s pushing you to do seem like a good idea. Probably had her hypnotised with words before she realized it.”

“He isn’t like the boys I remember you bringing home while you were in High School.”

That was for damn sure. He was confident to a fault, had the good looks and charm to back it up, and he was vehement about her taking care of herself. None of her other boyfriends had even put in half the effort. That Jareth did for a fake relationship was going to make quick work out of her if she let her guard down. She looked at Irene and nodded in agreement. “Is that bad?”

“More like a relief, to be honest. Your father won’t admit this, he’s too proud, but he’s glad that you found someone who seems keen on taking care of you.” Irene gave a quiet sigh and then shook her head. “Is he always like this? Or is this just because you’re visiting family?”

She blinked, thinking about the last few days and a smile curved her lips. She watched her step mother check the turkey and the pies, all the sides, making sure everything was ready for the family dinner.

“Always, since I’ve known him. He’s bossy to a fault, and if he doesn’t think I’m eating enough, he’ll just stick food in front of me.”

“He seems keen on when to step in, that’s for certain. I’ve never seen a man so at ease holding a child that young for the first time. Toby has spent so much time on his schoolwork that he isn’t used to holding the children, yet. I was going to get Emily, but he beat me to it. I don’t think any of your previous boyfriends would have stepped in like that.”

“They wouldn’t have,” she agreed, thinking of how to spin the answer to the unspoken question. “Jareth’s siblings have young children, too.”

It was a fib she’d have to fill him in on, soon. Just to be safe.

“Why did you call him a bully?”

She blinked, then remembering calling Jareth that at lunch. “Oh, he just...steamrolls over me, sometimes. I told him I don’t eat that much, he told me in no uncertain terms that wasn’t acceptable, and made me a peanut butter sandwich. And you saw how he was about the nap.”

Irene turned towards her, wearing an expression of surprise. Then, her lips curved into a soft smile. She didn’t say anything else regarding Jareth, just started on getting everything onto serving platters. “Could you get started on the coffee?”

Sarah thought about it for a moment, and a grin spread across her face. “I’ll ask Jareth - you’ll thank me, later.”

A rough chuckle from the doorway drew her attention and she found Jareth standing there, wearing that amused smirk of his that turned the wall around her heart to jello. “First you accuse me of spoiling you, now you’re telling your mother that I should make the coffee here, too?”

“Your coffee is better than mine.” She smiled and offered him an unrepentant shrug.

“Very well, my dear. I’ll make the coffee.” He gave a rough chuckle, and moved towards her and kissed her on the forehead. Emily was asleep in his arms, now, sucking on her thumb as she rested on his shoulder.

Irene watched them, a smile on her lips. “The coffee is over the coffee maker, Jareth.”

He nodded to her, and without passing the child over, he started working on setting up the coffee pot, working with one arm as competently as most did with two. Sarah noticed her stepmother give his ass an appraising look, and coughed, noting the approval in the woman’s eyes.

“We should get the food on the table, soon. It’s getting late.” Sarah noted the time, and frowned a bit, looking towards Irene. “Is Mariah alright? I noticed she seemed really tired when I got here.”

“She and Toby think she’s pregnant again, so she’s getting tired very easily.” Irene sighed and shook her head. She pulled down the dinnerware, setting it on the counter. “I can relate, I was the same way with Toby.”

Sarah took the stack of plates, pursing her lips. She only had Toby, though. Mariah already had two children, and a third on the way was too many, too fast. She kept those thoughts to herself, however, and stepped out of the kitchen, finding her father near the door, eavesdropping. She set the plates in his arms. “Dad, since your hands are free, could you help us set the table?”

She kept her tone sweet, letting him know with a look that she knew exactly what he was doing. He gave a guilty look, and headed to go put the plates on the table, and she went to find her brother. Toby was watching Mariah sleep in the side-room, and she brought Matthew in, setting the boy in his crib with care. “Dinner’s ready, you and Mariah should join us.”

“Emily?”

“Is quite content and napping on Jareth. I’m sure he’ll make sure she’s tucked in before he sits down,” she said, using a more tart tone with her brother, making her displeasure with him clear. He looked at her through wide-eyes, as if uncertain what he’d done to piss her off. “Wake up your wife and join us. There will be coffee soon.”

When she left the room, she saw Jareth heading her way. He checked his stride.

“I was going to put her down.”

She shook her head. “Give them a minute, Toby is waking her up, and I’m sure she won’t want too many people seeing her with sleep still in her eyes.”

“She doesn’t seem like the vain type.”

“It’s not about vanity, Jareth. It’s about vulnerability.”

He inclined his head, and gave a bit of a nod in understanding. “Fair enough.”

She remembered her conversation with Irene in the kitchen and she reached over, caressing one of Emily’s curls. “I had to make up something on the fly to explain why you’re so good with children when you don’t have any.”

“Oh, do tell?” He looked at her, his expression one of interest.

“I told Irene you have siblings and several young nieces and nephews of your own.”

He gave a quiet chuckle and leaned towards her, his breath stirring the hair at her temple when he spoke. “Easier than telling them that I essentially kidnap children for a living. Good to see you still think on your toes.”

“I thought you noticed that at the Yule Ball,” she quipped, and then bit back her words when Mariah and Toby left the room together. Jareth, on the other hand, gave a quiet chuckle, his lips brushing against her hairline. 

“Fair enough, my dear.”

Once Emily was tucked in as well, they joined her family at the table. Her parents had always insisted on saying grace during dinner, and Jareth played along, although she thought she saw him snort a few times during it. When dinner officially started, the conversation turned more lively. She endured the ribbing from her brother, used to it. Her father seemed to watch them very close, especially Jareth.

As she’d feared, the conversation eventually turned towards how she and Jareth had met. Considering they’d worked on the story on the fly, Jareth had no problem telling her parents that he’d met her at a coffee shop near her campus, and they’d been discussing her dissertation, and the work involved.

“Isn’t dating while she’s in school difficult?” Her father asked, his eyes flicking towards her and she ground her teeth, staring at her plate.

Jareth just laughed. “Neither Sarah, nor I, are children. Adults have responsibilities that sometimes take precedence over dates. We work around our schedules as we’re able to. Besides, I’m in competition with a document she’s spent the last two years putting in groundwork with. I haven’t had the time to put in the same, so it’s only fair that I allow her the time required to finish it.”

She pretended the cranberry sauce on her plate was interesting, trying to not blush as she smeared some of it onto a bite of turkey and eating it to give her something to do besides glare at her father.

Toby piped up and she heard the tone that said this was going to turn into a ‘thing’. “She’s _still_ writing that paper? How long is it, now, Sare?”

She looked at Toby, feeling the frown pulling at her lips. “It’s two hundred fifty pages. I need to trim it down and consolidate a few parts before it’s finished, but I’m nearly done.”

Toby laughed. “Christ, no wonder you can’t keep a boyfriend!”

Jareth’s eyes snapped towards Toby and Sarah glanced towards him, finding coolness in his gaze. “Seeing as you’re her brother, shouldn’t you be more supportive of the dreams she’s working hard towards, as opposed to verbally jabbing her about them over a holiday supper?”

His voice was a whip crack, sharp as it was cold. She lifted her eyes, looking up at him in surprise.

Jareth glanced towards her, then back at her brother. “She’s working hard on something that matters to her. Those that love her should give her the support and encouragement and time that she needs to finish that, shouldn’t they?”

“Well spoken,” Irene said, her tone cross when she addressed her son. “Toby, you’re half-way through your Bachelor’s degree. If you ever decide to move towards a master’s, you’ll have to write a thesis, which is a drop in the pond compared to what your sister is doing. A doctorate is nothing to scoff at.”

Mariah didn’t look at Toby, not jumping to his defense, enough proof that she didn’t approve of what he’d said.

Robert just gave his son a stern look. “What do you have to say to your sister?”

Toby winced, looking over the turkey and into her eyes. “Sorry, Sarah.”

She swallowed hard to keep the tears she felt itching at her eyes from the support from actually filling her eyes. It took some effort to force words from her lips. “Apology accepted. Now, rather than snipping at each other, how about I go get one of those pies and we get started on dessert?” Sarah got to her feet and her fingers brushed Jareth’s shoulder before she headed to the kitchen. When she was hidden from the table, she braced her hands on the counter, trying to keep herself from crying.

It was the first time her parents had come that close to giving her that sort of verbal approval. It took her a moment to get her emotions under control.

“I apologize if I spoiled your mood.”

She turned, finding Jareth leaning against the archway, his hands in his pockets.

Smiling, she shook her head. “No, Toby likes to tease me about my dating history. I can almost understand. I’m a thirty three year old woman, and I’m not married. Until Irene spoke up, I thought that she had the same opinion about my degree. Toby’s nineteen, has a smart mouth, a wife and two children already. It’s not surprising that he ribs me about it. Thank you, for what you said.”

She would have turned away, but he moved towards her, his hand touching her arm, and sliding down until his fingers laced through hers. “Your dreams never need to be in sync with their dreams for you. Their pleasure shouldn’t matter as much as your satisfaction with your own life.”

She looked up at him through wide-eyes, her breath stuttering in her chest. Movement near the archway caught her attention and she started to turn towards it. Before she could, Jareth’s free hand caught her face, preventing her from looking away from him. She felt her heart twist in that painful way it had been doing more and more often and then he leaned down, kissing her in her stepmother’s kitchen, in clear view of the doorway. 

It wasn’t the same sort of soft kiss he’d been giving her. His lips sealed over hers, and when she gave a quiet gasp, that seemed to be all the permission he seemed to slip his tongue between her lips. The hand on her cheek shifted, and his arm went around her waist, pulling her against him and she reacted through sheer instinct, her hands lacing behind the base of his neck. 

He gave a sound that sounded like she’d stroked him in just the right way, and lifted her almost off her feet towards him, his other hand finding her hair, holding her there as she held him, not letting her go too far away. The wet slide of his lips against hers wreaked havoc on her libido and her brain, one jump-starting and the other shutting down completely.

A quiet “oh” from the doorway broke through the passion of the kiss, and she jumped back as if burned. Her head whipped towards the archway, and she found Irene and Mariah standing there with wide-eyes, watching her with some interest.

She felt the heat in her cheeks, and coughed, swatting Jareth on the arm and when she spoke, she tried to tell herself the breathless tone of her voice was feigned.

“I said warn me, first.”

Jareth gave her a grin, looking as unrepentant as usual. “I’ll take that into consideration, my dear.”


	7. Wished Away Children and Christmas Presents

Dinner ended and dessert was eaten without further issues. Toby kept his mouth shut about her ability or lack thereof to keep a man happy, and she didn’t reach across the table and strangle him over the turkey. The conversation managed to stay light in part due to some maneuvering on Jareth’s part, and Sarah realized that he was quite good at it.

Still, she was growing hyper aware of him in ways she’d never been aware of men, before. 

That annoyed her, for reasons she didn’t want to look at. But she could feel the warmth of him at her side, the press of his thigh against her own. The weight of his arm around her shoulders. Still, she managed to ignore it, laughing with her family until the adults started winding down for bed.

She let Jareth escort her upstairs, watching as he shut the door behind them. When he turned back, he leaned against the door and looked at her for a long moment. “Something on your mind?”

She went towards her bag, finding one of the oversized t-shirts she slept in from it. “You’ve got to stop that.”

“Stop what, my dear?”

She straightened, unable to look at him. “Calling me that. Kissing me like you did, downstairs.”

“Why is that?”

He sounded closer, but she forced herself to not look at him, feeling a shiver work its way up her spine. She shook her shirt out for something to do besides look at him. She didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t cause both of them problems. “It’s distracting.”

His warmth came up behind her, but he didn’t touch her. Somehow, that made her more aware of his presence, rather than less. “Distracting, how exactly?”

She couldn’t afford a distraction like him. She was so close to finishing everything, and this wasn’t fair. She’d been around him for four days, and she was scared that she was starting to get tangled up. It wasn’t fair because it was fake, and soon it would be over. Her chest heaved and she shook her head, trying to concentrate. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper. 

“Why are you better at this than any real boyfriend I’ve ever had?”

His fingers pulled her shirt up and off of her, and she turned towards him, looking him in the eyes, ignoring the fact that she was standing there in her bra and jeans and nothing else. He looked at her, but his eyes didn’t leave her face. “In their defense, I’ve had a great deal more experience with women than the boys you have dated before.”

She pulled her oversized t-shirt off and slipped out of her jeans, folding them and leaving them on the dresser, turning away from him, again. The answer made so much logical sense and she hated it. He wasn’t supposed to be charming and kind and shower her with affection without expectations. She wasn’t supposed to care about him, that wasn’t part of this damn arrangement, but every time he called her sweet pet names and kissed her, she had trouble remembering that. When Christmas and New Years were over, she was going to go back to her regular life and pretend that this was nothing at all.

She was starting to worry that would be difficult.

“Sarah, regardless of how much experience I’ve got, what I said this evening is nothing but truth. I apologize if I’ve been too honest about how I see this situation. Would you prefer if I pretended to be like the fools who you were with before?” His expression was one of distaste, as if he didn’t like the idea of pretending to be someone like those who had hurt her before.

“No, but -” She paced the room, thinking hard. When she faced him again, she looked at his face. “This isn’t real.”

He seemed to consider her for a long moment, then moved towards her. “As I recall, my dear, the arrangement is simple. I act as your lover for Christmas, you attend social engagements with me as mine. Are you saying that it’s becoming inconvenient for you? Am I too real?”

Her brow furrowed and she struggled with words to express what she was feeling. “I’m starting to worry that when it finally does become inconvenient, I’m going to end up getting hurt.”

He straightened, his brow arching. He searched her eyes for a long moment, then stepped towards her. He didn’t speak at first, lifting his hand between them, palm extended towards her.

She swallowed hard, looking at his hand and then back up at his face. She lifted her trembling hand and set it on his, biting her lower lip.

He used the grip on her hand to draw her close, and his free hand came to rest on her waist. “That sounds ominously like you’re growing attached to me, Sarah.” His eyes held hers, not looking away from her.

She bit her lip harder, lowering her gaze.

He gave a quiet sigh, then leaned down. Rather than finding her lips, his found her hairline, brushing against her temple. 

“You’re tired.” His voice was quiet when he spoke. “You haven’t been sleeping well. We can discuss this further another time, but right now isn’t the best time.” His fingers found her chin and he lifted her face, looking at her. Something in his eyes told her not to argue with him. 

So she let him guide her towards the bed and tuck her in, pulling the blankets up around her. She thought he’d crawl in with her, but he seemed content to just sit on the edge of the bed. She swallowed hard before she found the courage to speak.

“Are you getting in here, too?”

He considered it, she could see it. Then, he looked away. “You don’t sleep well when I’m in bed with you.”

It took swallowing her pride, but she nodded in agreement. “I don’t think I’ll sleep well if you aren’t, either. Besides, you made me take a nap earlier. So I’m making you take one now.”

Pleasure and surprise on his face and he leaned over her, pausing for a moment. Then, his lips brushed against hers, that soft caress he’d been giving her since the evening of the 21st. Then, he shifted onto the bed with her, under the top blanket, but with the sheet separating them.

She felt the moment when his clothing was gone, and her cheeks heated. She slept in a t-shirt, but he slept in the nude, and that was something that her brain still tripped over. His arm settled over her midsection and she rested so her back was to him, his warm chest against it. The feeling of his chest brushing her back with each inhaled breath relaxed her, and when she closed her eyes, she drifted off into dreams.

Those dreams, however, had her waking up multiple times through the night and blushing. 

She tried to not think too much about the nature of them beyond hoping very deeply that she wasn’t moaning in her sleep. In her dreams, Jareth was darker in a sexy commanding way, and did things she should not ever be thinking about, never mind risking him actually getting tuned in to her dreams.

The last time that night, close to dawn, she woke from one such dream and found herself alone in the bed. She startled further, first wondering if she’d woken him from her restless movement in her sleep. The next thought made her heart twist in pain, the fear that he’d left for good winding around it and squeezing. After all, it was supposed to be something convenient, and she was getting twisted up about the fae monarch. She wasn’t convenient, anymore, and he’d leave her -

“Sarah, what’s wrong?”

Her eyes jerked towards the window and she found Jareth standing there, not looking human at all. His glamor was gone, and she recognized the armor he was wearing from when she’d stood in her parents room eighteen years ago. She swallowed hard, wondering how to explain the panic she’d felt from finding him gone. From being afraid he wasn’t coming back. It took several false starts before she managed to speak. “Is everything okay? You’re -”

He glanced towards the mirror and gave a sigh, and as she watched his glamor settled over him. The sharp feral features softened to the more human look. The dark armor changed to a collared shirt with several buttons at the top opened, and fitted jeans. He pushed a hand through his hair, pacing towards her.

She took a moment, thinking about what he’d been wearing, and then she looked up at him. When she spoke, it was low and quiet and she struggled to not feel hate for people she didn’t even know. “Someone wished away a child?”

He gave a short nod, and sat on the edge of the bed, beside her. He leaned back against the headboard, looking tired.

She opened her mouth to ask, then decided she didn’t want to know. “Son of a bitch…”

His head snapped towards her and he looked affronted, as if she’d insulted him.

She shook her head, frustrated, then looked at him. “Not you. Wishing a child away on Christmas. What kind of asshole -”

A finger against her lips silenced her. “Sometimes, my dear, as terrible as human nature can be, it’s better for the child for them to be wished away.” His voice was low and quiet, and his hand shifted from her lips, stroking her hair as if to soothe her.

She frowned, sitting up next to him. “How can that be?”

His arm went around her back, holding her against his side and with a gesture, a crystal formed on his fingertips. He handed it to her. Sarah looked in and found a very young girl dozing next to her mother with a crystal in her hand. She looked back at Jareth in confusion.

“The girl who made the wish was younger than you were when you wished Toby away. The child was her own, the product of a man who had forced her to do things a child that young is never ready for. The man who forced her was her own father, and didn’t use any protection. The girl ended up pregnant with her own sister and daughter.”

Her stomach churned, and she stared up at him in horror. “Is the father still there?”

A smile that should have chilled her curled his lips. She could see his sharp teeth, see the feral side of him that the glamor usually hid. “No, my dear, he is not. You see, she made that wish in front of her mother. And her mother, upon learning exactly what sort of monster her husband was, made a wish of her own. I’m fae. I know just what sort of mischief to use in order to ensure that the child will never be put in such a situation ever again. The father’s misdeeds will be handled in the Goblin Kingdom, the infant will become a goblin and live a simple and happy life, and the child who made the wish is getting to enjoy the first Christmas with her mother without her father looming over everything.”

She swallowed hard, biting her lip and nodded. She handed the crystal back to him, a thought occurring to her that she’d never really thought to ask him.

“You love children, don’t you. Everyone noticed when you were holding Emily, including the baby. You can’t fake things like that. That’s why you’re the Goblin King. I mean, in theory, you could abdicate if you didn’t enjoy the work.”

He looked towards her and his lips turned up into a handsome smile. “Call it a professional hazard, my dear.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Fair enough.” She hesitated for a moment, then she shifted, resting her head against his shoulder, wondering if she was allowed to enjoy this.

“I thought you’d be sleeping, still?” Jareth’s voice was quiet and very close to her ear. She could hear a trace of worry in the tone, and she wondered how much of that she should get into.

“I was having weird dreams. They woke me a few times last night, then when I woke and you were gone, I was confused and disoriented. I didn’t know what was going on. I suppose the surprise of it kept me awake.”

He was quiet for a long moment and she felt his hand pass over her hair, fingers combing through it. She turned to look up at him and found his speculative gaze on her. Before she could look away, his other hand caught her chin, thumb brushing over her lower lip. Her breath stuttered out of her and she looked up at him, wide-eyed.

Then, he leaned close, his lips brushing against hers, so soft she almost couldn’t feel it. Her eyes closed against her will, as he lingered, keeping that soft contact.

“My apologies for worrying you, my dear. I’ll endeavor to leave you with more warning if I need to vanish in the middle of the night, again.”

She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or not. She opened her eyes and looked at him and found his gaze hooded, those brilliant blue eyes pinning her. Again, she found herself wishing that he wasn’t so good at this, so that she wouldn’t end up with her heart destroyed when this damn arrangement was over. Too easily, she could fall for his natural charm, the care he took with her, and even his darker side she sometimes saw lurking beneath the surface. 

“Jareth -”

Whatever she was going to say was lost when a hand beat hard on her bedroom door and she gave a displeased snarl, her head whipping towards it.

“Come on, Sare! If you don’t get downstairs, we’ll start opening the presents without you!”

Toby, her brain identified, and she bared her teeth.

“You know. I realize you saved him and all, but I am starting to suspect there are times where you seriously consider wishing him off to the goblins, again.”

She opened her mouth to object, but she saw the faint amusement on Jareth’s face, and flushed. Instead of gracing his comment with an answer, she flipped the covers off, and started crawling out of her bed. She remembered too late that she was wearing little more than a t-shirt and underwear.

Jareth’s arms snatched her around her waist and she found herself settled against his thighs, his chest close to her back. When he spoke, his voice was a purr against her ear.

“While I can’t say I don’t enjoy the view, my dear, I don’t recommend crawling out of bed in front of me. Or else you really will end up missing out on opening presents.” Every word she felt his lips brush against the back of her ear and she sucked in a sharp breath, a shudder working its way through her.

She gave a quick nod, and went to find her jeans, pulling them on under the t-shirt as quick as she could, hoping the blood pooling in her face would ease up before she hit the bottom step. When she straightened, and glanced back, she found Jareth still lounging on the bed with a satisfied grin on his face. As she watched, he rose from the bed with the grace of a damn cat and snagged her hand before she could dance back.

“That is a fetching shade of pink on you, my dear.” He said, pulling her towards the door, pure mischief sparkling in his eyes.

She sputtered, again, and decided a strategic retreat to grumpy would be her best option this morning. So she let him herd her downstairs. The view around the tree was so nostalgic, her footsteps faltered at the doorway to the living room. Irene was kneeling by the base of the tree, prime hand out position, the same she always sat in. Robert was near her, ready to aid should she need it. Toby and Mariah sat on the couch with a child on each shoulder. She pulled a face at her brother, sticking her tongue out at him.

She felt Jareth pause when she did, and she shook herself, going to sit on the other couch. He released her hand, as she did, and she watched him head into the kitchen. Probably going to start on coffee for the morning. At least he knew well enough how to get back into her good graces, she thought, still feeling grumpy.

Jareth had been given an open invitation to make coffee whenever it suited him, which she doubted Jareth recognized that for the compliment that it was.

Irene and Robert started handing out presents before he’d returned, the ones intended for the children. The babies were fascinated with the shiny papers and bows and ribbons, but didn’t give a damn about the actual presents. Which was fine, they were intended for Toby and Mariah, to make sure they would have a bit of a surplus of things they needed for the children. Karen and Robert had gotten them several sets of onesies and baby blankets, a few stuffed toys with stitched eyes and teethers for matt. She’d gotten them two different kinds of diapers, cloth and disposable, baby wipes and a baby sling for Emily. Other gifts for them from extended family were silly, useless things the kids would be more likely to destroy than actually get any real use out of.

When Jareth returned, he had two cups of coffee in hand. He passed her one before sitting beside her, his arm stretched over the couch behind her, his thigh close enough to her she could feel the warmth of him through her jeans. She cradled the cup between her hands and noted Toby and Robert looking at her in surprise.

It was well known in the family that she was finicky about coffee, and that no one was allowed to make hers because she was so particular about it. So, meeting their eyes, she lifted the cup and took a long drink from it. As usual, the amount of cream and sugar was exactly what she’d use, herself and she gave a quiet sigh that she knew sounded like she’d been stroked just right. Jareth was looking at her, his brow raised as well. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his sculpted cheekbone.

“Thank you,” she said.

He looked like the cat that had caught a canary, she noted as he leaned back again, looking far too smug for his own good.

That little scene caused a hiccup in the flow of the morning, but Irene had more than enough experience to move things along after. She started handing out the presents for the “children”, which meant Toby and her, and she tore open the package, finding fluffy new socks, and a festive sweater, some cash tucked away in the bottom, chapstick, and a gift card for a bookstore. Mariah got a similar package.

They had taken her advice and gotten Jareth a nice set of cufflinks with dark blue stones set in them. He wore a faint expression of surprise, but smiled and accepted them, and she took a moment to help him get them set into the cuffs of the shirt he wore.

More gifts were passed out. Her gift for Mariah was a soft, light nursing blanket and a decent breast pump. She got her brother a fountain pen and ink refills. She had found a pretty vintage pin at a thrift shop that she knew matched some jewelry that her stepmother had been collecting. She got her father a nice silk tie. Toby got his wife a pretty necklace, their parents, he teased he’d gotten a third grandchild on the way. Her present was a canned snake. Fortunately, she was used to those sorts of gifts and aimed it at her brother before opening it, popping him in the face with the spring.

He sputtered, annoyed and she took a juvenile sort of pleasure in it.

Her mother handed Jareth a box, and he looked pleasantly surprised, giving her a balance. 

“Full of surprises, my dear,” he said, his voice low. “I didn’t expect you to get me anything.”

He opened the box and she noticed he didn’t just rip the paper off the box, taking his time with it like he was opening a puzzle. Toby seemed to twitch watching it, and Sarah noted that Jareth seemed to slow down and take more time than necessary, intentionally making her brother twitch in the process. When the box was opened, he pulled the soft sweater up, looking at it in appreciation. He put it on, immediately, and leaned over, kissing her, just a quick brush of his lips on hers.

“Thank you, Sarah,” he said, holding her eyes with his for a moment.

She felt heat on her cheeks, but when he pulled her against his side, she decided that was fine and snuggled against his warmth, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Oh!”

She blinked in surprise, finding Irene looking at a present in her hands, a small and flat box and she looked up at Jareth. She watched her stepmother open the package with curious fingers and Sarah inclined her head, noting the wrapping paper matched what she’d used. 

She gave Jareth a perplexed look, realizing he’d gotten everyone a present as well.

When Irene opened the jeweler’s box, she lifted a hand to her chest, looking pleasantly surprised. She looked up at Jareth, her expression touched. “Thank you, Jareth.”

He just smiled and gave a bit of a nod to her. Toby leaned over and saw the box and squirmed a bit, and looked away. Irene turned the jewelers box towards them, showing a lovely set of pearl earrings and a matching necklace set. That explained why her brother was squirming in his seat. She gave Jareth a bit of an elbow in the ribs, but still grinned at him.

Her father, who had a collection of broken pocket watches that barely worked because he liked the way they looked, received a fine pocket watch on a handsome chain. He looked pleased as punch with his present as well. The next present was handed over to Mariah, and she opened it, curious and confused. She opened the card and it fell from her hands as if she couldn’t grasp it. Her hands flew to her mouth in surprise, and Toby frowned, snagging the card, then looked up at Jareth in surprise.

“We can’t accept this -”

Jareth looked at Toby, his head inclined just a bit. “You’re both new parents. You both need to take the time with one another to keep your relationship healthy.”

Sarah leaned to the side and saw tickets on a cruise liner for Mariah and Toby. Toby shifted and hugged his wife, stroking her hair. Then, he looked at Jareth and nodded in agreement. “Thanks, then.”

Jareth shrugged, and nodded. She gave him another gentle elbow in his side. “You’re too smooth,” she muttered to him.

“We’ll see if that’s the case.”

“Sarah, here’s yours,” Irene announced, and handed her another flat box.

She blinked, taking the box and looked at Jareth, finding him watching her. She’d assumed that their arrangement, that him enduring two days with her parents, would be her present. She unwrapped the present, finding another jewelers box and she opened it. Her heart jumped into her throat and she covered her mouth.

Jareth, without asking, took the box and pulled an elegant diamond chandelier earring from it. He slipped one through the hole in her earlobe. As he did, she heard her mother and sister in law gasp in surprise. Once it was fastened, he took the other, putting that one in its place as well.

“You’ll need these for the New Years party,” he said, his voice low as he spoke to her.

“They’re beautiful,” she admitted, swallowing hard.

His fingers trailed from her ear to her chin and he held her face still, admiring them on her for a long moment, his lips curved into a smile that brought her libido rushing up through her.

So not fair, she thought, caught by his beautiful eyes.

She thought, for a moment, that he was going to kiss her again, like he had in the kitchen the night before. Then, her father cleared his throat and she felt her cheeks heat, and she backed up, forcing her eyes from his. Rather than complaining, she heard the man beside her release a quiet chuckle, and he shifted to sit closer to her, his arm going around her shoulders again.

She decided that was fine and shifted close, again, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “I didn’t think you would get everyone presents.”

“Fair’s fair,” he quipped against her ear, and she felt her breath catch at the caress of his lips there.

Once the gift giving finished, everyone sat around the living room chatting. The talk turned towards Mariah’s upcoming pregnancy and Sarah detected panic rather than pleasure in her sister in law’s eyes. She fixed Toby with a serious look, a frown pulling at her lips. She didn’t speak until she was certain she had his attention.

“I suppose that means you’re ready to step up and make sure you help support her properly. And I don’t mean monetarily. You were raised better than to just leave all the child rearing to your wife.”

Her brother had the good grace to blush.

After brunch, Jareth ended up trapped in the living room with her parents and Mariah and she was in the kitchen handling the dishes with her brother. She kept quiet for a while, hearing laughter and conversation from the living room, and she glanced at Toby.

“You need to start wearing a rubber, Toby.”

“I don’t like them,” he complained, setting a dish in the drying rack.

She turned towards him and gave him a look that had withered other men. “Toby, you’ve been married for two years and your wife is on her third pregnancy. She needs to rest. I don’t give a flying fuck how much you don’t like them, if they pinch, or if bareback feels better. You start wearing a condom, because if she’s pregnant with a fourth before next Christmas, I’ll castrate you with a spoon.”

He sputtered, turning towards her in surprise. “Sarah, this isn’t any of your business.”

“I don’t know if you haven’t noticed because you don’t pay enough attention, but she’s exhausted and you’re in school. You have another two years before you get your degree. You don’t live close enough to our parents or hers for them to help her out with the children. She’s your wife, Toby. If you can enjoy the pleasure of the marriage bed, you’d better step up and start enjoying the other responsibilities that come from it.”

“Why do you think I’m trying so hard in school?!” He snapped, glaring at her. “If I get this degree, I can join one of those tech startups in Seattle, and we’ll be set for life.”

Sarah sighed, shaking her head, searching for patience. “Toby, she supports your choices. But have you taken the time in the last two years to ask what her dreams are?”

He stopped, looking lost for a long moment.

“Just be careful that she’s not so busy trying to please you that she loses who she is and what she wants. Because that’s what happened with my birth mother. And when she found herself, again, she ran and abandoned our father with me.”

Toby looked at her for a long moment, then turned his gaze to the soapy water. “I guess I never thought about it like that.”

She nodded in understanding. “Most guys don’t. Which, I might add, is the real reason I haven’t ‘kept a boyfriend’ as you indelicately put it last night. Mariah is your partner, she needs more than monetary support if you two are going to make it. If you don’t want to wear a condom, talk to her about alternatives. But make sure you two aren’t on the same road to different locations.” She sighed, shaking her head. “You’re both still so young.”

Toby scoffed. “You say that like you’ve got a foot in the grave, already.”

She shrugged, and started back on the dishes. “I’m a lot older than you, Toby. And I’ve had a lot of boyfriends trip over the fact that I won’t compromise my dreams for them.”

His gaze returned to the water. “What about you? Your boyfriend have to wear a rubber?”

Her cheeks heated and she swallowed hard, not looking at her brother. This wasn’t something she needed to even be thinking about, she thought to herself, but she shook that thought out of her head, forcing herself to answer.

“I’m a thirty three year old woman in a long term relationship with a school paper. I thought he also made it clear last night that whatever we were or weren’t doing, children aren’t in either of our plans for some time. I graduate this year, and he has his own responsibilities that pull him away at odd times.”

“I’ve never seen you like you are with him before. You really like him, don’t you?”

Yes, and that scared the living daylights out of her. Rather than answer, she dodged the question. “Seen me like what?”

“None of the others made you forget that anyone else was in the room. You two were about to make out in front of your parents after you opened those earrings. I’d call it hormones, but I thought you were old enough that that wouldn’t be a concern.”

“I’m trying to not overthink it,” she said, trying to not think about it at all, because it made her heart do that troubling twist she didn't think she liked.

“Why not? Maybe he’s ‘the one’?”

She shot her brother a look. She wasn’t going to even try to explain the contract, because the loud mouth would go tell her parents that this wasn’t a real relationship. She wasn’t going to tell him that Jareth was only with her because it was convenient, in part because thinking about it like that was starting to hurt. She was still tripping over the idea of getting involved with a man from another realm in the first place. So, she didn’t answer him, getting the dishes finished and when they were finished, Toby walked out of the kitchen and she refilled her coffee. After doctoring it, she leaned against the counter, lost in thought, her finger tracing the rim of the mug.

If she let herself dwell on this like it was a real relationship, she was going to get hurt. She’d gone so long protecting it from careless hands, from the other’s she’d dated. Sure, she’d felt disappointment when the previous relationships ended, but this wasn’t going to end like that.

That scared the hell out of her.

“I see what you meant about your parents pumping me for information.”

Jareth’s voice at the archway drew her attention and she looked at him. He pushed a hand through his hair as he walked towards her, his steps measured.

She took a moment to appreciate how that sweater fit him. It was slim enough that she could see the curve of muscles she usually pretended that she didn’t notice. He stopped at her side, leaning against the counter with her. One of his hands came to rest on one of hers.

“If it makes you feel any better, Toby was in here trying the same thing with me.”

“Oh, really?”

“To be honest, I think he was just annoyed because I told him I’d castrate him if he got Mariah pregnant again before next Christmas.” He gave a surprised laugh, and looked towards her. “I also read him the riot act about taking measures to keep her from getting pregnant again after this one.”

“Ahh, so I’m not the only one who thinks three in such a short time is too many, too fast.”

She gave a sigh, leaning her head against his shoulder, for a moment, and then looking up at him. “So, what’s with the flashy earrings? The last time I needed something like this, they were waiting there with the dress.”

His eyes found hers, and flicked towards the earring that still hung from her ear. “I thought they’d be an appropriate present from a man to a woman. Were they too much?”

“I thought Irene’s eyes were going to pop out of her skull when she saw them,” she said, finding her gaze caught by his, again. “Are these diamonds?”

His lips curved into a smile, and he tilted his head. “And if they are? It’s not as though I can’t afford to spoil you.”

But it’s confusing, she wanted to say and her brow furrowed a bit. She shook herself, digging for some sass. “Is spoiling me a part of this arrangement? I didn’t see that in the fine print.”

He turned and she found herself pinned to the counter. His other hand found hers, holding them there. His eyes drifted from hers to her lips, and the smile he gave her showed a flash of sharp teeth. When he spoke, his voice was a low, quiet purr. “I would call it a prerequisite.”

She searched his eyes, feeling that strange fear she’d never felt before. She’d brushed against it the night before, when she’d told him he needed to stop this. When his eyes met hers again, she saw that he could see that fear as well. “And when you’re tired of it? When you’re tired of putting in so much work for someone who is always preoccupied?”

That smile grew wider, and he leaned so his lips were close to her ear. “Sarah, if you’re worried about this being inconvenient for me, it isn’t. This is something I do because I enjoy doing it. And you enjoy it being done as well. You like being spoiled as much as you like me pinning you against your stepmother’s counter like this. That sort of compatibility makes the situation more convenient, not less. So, as I said before the ball on Yule, enjoy yourself as much as you’re able.”

A shiver crept up her spine, but she couldn't have said if it was from fear or arousal. “Assuming much, aren’t you? How do you know I like it?”

He shifted closer, and one of his legs slipped between her knees. She felt his hips against hers and a flush rushed to her face, because she could feel him through his jeans against her. His hands tightened on hers, holding them there, and her eyes fell closed, breath leaving her in a rush. When he spoke again, she felt his breath whisper over her lips. “Because if you didn’t, my dear, you wouldn’t let me do things like this.”

His lips were kissing close and hers parted, her libido heaving her good sense out of her brain. Her breath shook out of her and she acknowledged the truth he’d just spoken. If she really wanted him to stop, she could make him stop.

She thought, for a moment, he would kiss her again, like he had the night before. His hand lifted from hers, touching the earring that still dangled from her ear, his fingers brushing against her neck as his hand lowered. The soft caress had her breath quicken, her heart stumble, and she opened her eyes, staring up into his.

“Sarah, is everything alright?”

Oh, she was going to strangle her father, she thought as Jareth dropped his hand as if he hadn’t half-seduced her breathless against her parents kitchen counter. Still, having him move away from her a bit straightened her head out and she shook herself, blinking. 

“Uh, yeah. Fine.”

She was glad, she didn’t sound like she was about to jump the fae monarch who had shifted so that he stood at her side.

Jareth still held one of her hands captive, and he lifted it to his lips, looking at her from under his brows, a smirk curving his lips. As he drew her from the kitchen, she noted that his expression was a little too smug and satisfied.

A sigh escaped her and she shook herself, trying to remember all the reasons she shouldn’t be getting tangled up with him, emotionally. The problem was, she was starting to wonder if Jareth understood or cared.


	8. Skilled Fingers and Story Time

Sometime between brunch and dinner, the sky opened up and started dumping snow on the town. Sarah stared out the window and gave a quiet sigh, shaking her head. She’d meant to head out tonight, to be home by the twenty sixth so she didn’t overstep her part of their agreement. He’d agreed to the twenty fourth and fifth, but at this point, he’d spent more time with her family than she had in his realm acting as a buffer between him and his kind.

She worried her lower lip, noting that the car would need to be dug out before she could get anywhere and she let her head thump against the window. She felt warmth at her back and lifted her head, finding Jareth reflected in the window behind her. His arm was braced against the wall by her head.

“I know you’re not even thinking that you’re driving home in this,” he said, his voice quiet and there was a dangerous edge in it that told her that he was leaning towards that bossy kingly side of his personality.

She gave a quiet sigh, and after a moment, leaned back against his chest. “No, but it wasn’t my intention to make you endure three days with my family.”

“I’m aware of that, my dear. If it makes you feel better, enduring your family has not been a particularly odious task. Although I do object to them interrupting every time I feel like I’m making progress seducing you.” 

That dark edge of his voice had a bit of a laugh in it and she felt herself flush. She turned and gave him a sharp look, not certain if he was teasing her again or not. The expression was playful, but the look in his eyes wasn’t. Still, she forced herself to assume he was, in fact, just teasing her. The alternative was impossible. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop that, and instead squeaked when she felt one hand resting flat on her stomach. It was just above the rise of her pants, fingertips grazing the exposed skin under the bottom edge of her shirt.

“Come along, Sarah. It’s late and you haven’t taken a break today.” His lips brushed against her ear when he spoke and her breath shuddered out of her again.

Not fair, her brain told her and her heart told her brain to shut the hell up.

His fingers found hers, and laced through them and she let him pull her away from where she looked out the window and guide her upstairs to her room. She found her t-shirt and a towel and bit her lip and looked at him before she left. He was removing the sweater she’d gotten him, and folding it on the dresser in her room. She took the moments he was distracted to flee to the bathroom.

She needed to think very hard about what was happening. She couldn’t keep lying to herself, she liked that he kissed her without caring if her parents saw. She liked that he spoiled and took care of her. She even liked that he could be bossy about it.

They were things other men expected from a relationship, but seldom seemed to reciprocate. Being on the receiving end for the first time was making her heart get tangled up in thoughts of him. To make matters more serious, Jareth didn’t seem to have the slightest problem starting an affair with her.

She undressed, folding her clothes neat on the counter and took the earrings from her ears, looking at them as she laid them on her shirt. 

He gave her gifts of value, treated her like he valued her.

And what would he do if this wasn’t just a contract? If they were lovers for real and not simply for convenience’s sake. He’d told her to let herself enjoy their arrangement, to enjoy being the center of his attention, to let him spoil her. Why? And what would she do when reality finally crashed around her ears and this arrangement ended? When he decided she really was too inconvenient, and wasn’t easy enough to have a relationship with? When she wasn’t focused enough on him and them?

She was already too aware that when this ended, she was the one that was going to be hurt by it, not him.

She climbed into the shower, letting the water pound on her for a while, trying to use it to beat the thoughts away. She washed herself, her hair and after she finished, she was still too busy overthinking everything. She drew a bath, and shifted down in the water, trying to force herself to relax and not think. Every time she thought she was making progress, she’d see that sharp smile in her mind, the look in his eyes when he got close to her.

He wasn’t human. In the end, she could boil it down to that.

She didn’t know if he thought chasing her would be a fun challenge, or if she was just seeing things that her brain tried to interpret as human reactions, but he wasn’t human and she was. He wasn’t interested in tying himself to a mortal woman, so whatever he was doing, in the end, she was the one who would end up hurt. How could she let herself relax and enjoy it if she knew that was the case?

“Not fair,” she muttered, leaning her head back against the edge of the tub and heaving a sigh. He really was too good at this.

She wasn’t aware when it happened, but she dozed off in the warm water of her bath. A quiet chuckle roused her enough to open her eyes and she found the Goblin King looking at her. She blinked, bleary eyed, up at him and he crouched down beside the tub, reached into the water, and pulled the plug on the bath.

As the water drained from the tub, she sighed, shifting onto her side so that her head was close to him.

"You really do need a keeper, don’t you, you precious thing?” There was exasperation in his tone, but also something that sounded like affection. She must be sleeping, that was the only explanation for that tone in his voice.

She felt his hand brush her hair from her cheek, and then his arms went around her, lifting her from the tub. He set her on the toilet and wrapped her in a towel and then a bathrobe. Once she was sufficiently bundled, he swept her into his arms and carried her from the room. 

She was still half-asleep, and too tired to object to the position. Instead, she shifted so her face was close to his neck and the smell of him, that soft and spicy scent mixed with something sharper and metallic. 

It was a nice smell, she thought, and sighed, relaxing in his arms. She lost the next few seconds, and she thought she had fallen asleep again, when she found herself on her bed. He had disappeared, and when he returned, she saw that he’d reclaimed her clothing from the bathroom. 

“How long was I in there?” She asked, frowning a bit.

“Closing in on two hours, my dear. Your family and I were starting to worry you’d drowned.” He shifted onto the bed and she saw that he’d rolled his sleeves up over his elbow at some point. His eyes pinned hers and fingers brushed against her cheek, the touch almost too soft. “I know you didn’t sleep well, last night, but this is ridiculous.”

“Had funny dreams, last night. Kept waking up because of them.”

“Because of me?”

She didn’t know how to answer that. It was a yes and a no, but she knew that she didn’t want to explain that she’d been having semi-erotic dreams about him the night before. Those hadn’t done her brain or her heart any good at all. Waking and finding him gone had terrified her.

When she didn’t answer him, he leaned closer, his expression leaning towards cross. “You planned on driving home, tonight, without adequate rest again.”

She gave a quiet sigh, shaking her head. “I told you before, I can’t fall asleep when I’m driving.”

He frowned. She didn’t like his frowning face. “I don’t like that you think of that as an adequate defense, my dear. You are not the only one harmed if you are in an accident. Everyone who cares for you would be hurt as well. Including me.”

She glanced away from him, trying to ignore the way he’d managed to reach in and squeeze her heart so hard it hurt, and using only words. 

“Jareth -”

Before another word left her, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was the same way he’d kissed her in the kitchen, the night before. He didn’t ask, he took, almost like he was trying to devour her. When she tried to reach for him, his hands caught hers, pinning them against the bed above her head. The feeling of being captive made her struggle against him for a moment, but she relaxed when all he did was kiss her, his tongue slipping between her lips and stroking against hers. He retreated for a moment, his lips still brushing against hers and she gave a shuddered sigh.

“I’m going to make sure you get adequate sleep tonight, Sarah,” his voice was a command, even purred against his mouth as he spoke. She felt her breath catch in her chest.

“Jareth -?”

He caught both of her wrists in one hand, holding them over her head. His other slid down her body, opening the bathrobe. The grip on her wrists was loose enough that she knew she could break it. He drew back a bit, looking into her eyes for a long moment, as if waiting. 

It took her a moment to realize he was waiting. He was giving her a chance to tell him to stop. She thought she would. As she stared up into his eyes, her brain screamed at her that this was a recipe for disaster. Yet, a different word altogether fell from her lips.

“Please,” she whispered, terrified and aroused, and the two caused her heart to choke her as they tangled up inside of her. He could laugh at her, and leave her right then, and she’d be left accepting that she was just a challenge that she feared he saw her as.

Instead, pleasure flashed in his eyes and his hand slipped below the edge of the towel. She felt them brush against her as his lips found hers again, silencing the startled gasp that escaped her. His eyes burned into hers as curious digits brushed between her thighs. A strangled whimper escaped her and she tried to reach for him, but his hands still held her pinned to her bed.

She saw amusement in his eyes when she realized that he was going to keep her hands pinned like this, and she swallowed hard. She felt his sharp teeth caught her lower lip as he drew back and he looked down at her.

“Oh, no, my dear. I’m afraid this is also punishment for you being so insensitive regarding the feelings of others. You don’t get to touch.” 

As he said that, his fingertip brushed her clit and she bucked towards his hand, head digging into the pillows. She bit her lower lip hard, trying to hold in her response. Each teasing stroke of his fingers had her hips lifting towards him and she closed her eyes as her brain shut off altogether. Lips brushed over her jaw and down her neck and she gave a quiet whimper unable to quite keep it in.

His fingers slipped lower, and her breath hitched as they pressed inside of her. Her heart stuttered, and then raced ahead, pounding hard under his lips.

“Jareth,” she gasped, shuddering against him, her head light. “Please -”

He was being so gentle, it was almost torture. His thumb brushed slow circles over her clit, fingers curling inside of her while his lips caressed her neck. The occasional sharpness of his teeth and wetness of his tongue only added to the intensity of the pleasure drowning her.

It was shameful how fast he got her off like that.

She would have cried out in surprise when she came, but his lips crashed against hers, and he swallowed the sound. But he didn’t stop. His fingers kept right on caressing her inside and out, and she felt a second building before she’d come down from the first one. Her back arched towards him, hips rolling against the stroke of his fingers as she gasped and writhed, each sound she made silenced by him.

She lay there, twitching and trembling as the fullness of his fingers withdrew and stroked for a moment over her quaking flesh. She had trouble opening her eyes, but when she managed to drag them open, she saw him lifting his soaked fingers to his mouth, sucking them clean. Her jaw hung open and she felt heat rise to her cheeks as his eyes opened, pinning hers from beneath his dark brows.

When he looked at her like that, he looked feral and dangerous, and the glamor didn’t quite hide what he was. And that was just as big a turn on as everything else.

He released her wrists a moment later, but she didn’t have the strength to draw them down to her sides. A grin turned up his lips and he took her wrists, guiding them down. She gave a bit of a groan, the muscles sore from her movements. A smile curved his lips and he leaned close, brushing his mouth against hers again, the sort of kiss he usually gave her since this arrangement had begun.

Her head was fuzzy with exhaustion, beyond what was normal. She felt him shift her so she was laying on her stomach, and his hands started working on the muscles in her shoulders. She gave a quiet groan as they found the sore muscles, caressing them with a firm touch.

Still, she managed to work up a half-hearted glare to aim at him.

“You put a sleep spell on me, again, didn’t you? While I was coming.”

“Would you have cooperated and gone straight to sleep after if I hadn’t?” He asked, and she could _hear_ the amusement in his tone.

“Probably not,” she admitted. Dragging her eyes open, she looked up at his handsome face. “You’re still a bully.”

He shifted, leaning on one arm, and giving her a grin that looked completely unrepentant. Instead of answering her accusation, he stroked a hand down over her back, wrapping it over her waist and cuddling her close. She decided, in her exhausted state, this was fine, and she snuggled up against him and let the spell he’d wrapped around her pull her into a deep and restful sleep.

She felt him shift, while she slept, but it wasn’t until a chill crept up her back and she realized she was alone again that she awoke, rolling towards where Jareth had been the night before, finding the bed chilled. She blinked slowly, trying to force her brain to think, finding the smell of coffee drifting in through her door and she wondered if he’d done that on purpose.

She relaxed, and a frown pulled at her lips. She wasn’t certain she liked that. Every time she woke alone, she was starting to be scared that he’d just disappeared.

A glance down found she was still wrapped in her towel and a bathrobe. That forced the memory of what he’d done the night before to hit her. A groan left her and she pulled the blanket over her head. She didn’t like that now that she was awake, her brain was going to trouble her about this. A flush burned her cheeks and she remembered the look in his eyes when he’d looked after her after. That carnal and dangerous look had told her in no uncertain terms that he’d very much enjoyed what he’d done to her.

As much as she’d enjoyed what he’d done.

That was the hitch, wasn’t it, she thought, finally forcing herself into a seated position. She did enjoy it, and he knew it. So when did this come crashing down to reality? Because she was being heaved to a point that no other man had ever managed to force her to.

Jareth was becoming important to her, on personal levels that others had tried and crashed miles short of. She was starting to wonder what he’d be like if this was real, if it wasn’t just something that desperation had pushed them both towards and that scared the hell out of her. She couldn’t afford to get serious about someone, yet. Men had proven too often that they really couldn’t manage a relationship with her while she was focused on her work.

That meant she’d have to cut this short, herself, before this ended up blowing up in her face. Breaking up with a mortal man was bad enough. She’d been stalked, harassed, among other things she’d blotted out with care so she could focus on the things important to her.

Imagine trying to do that with a fae king, she thought, and she shivered, not needing to feign the fear.

She was startled out of her maudlin thoughts by a tap on her door and she looked up, finding Mariah standing in the doorway with Emily on one shoulder and a cup of coffee in her hand. She blinked, watching the young woman walk in, and accepted the cup of coffee. She gave it a sip and bit her lower lip.

Jareth had made her coffee again, to perfection.

Again, she thought he was too good at this, making a fake relationship feel more real than any other she’d ever been in.

“Sarah, can I talk to you about something?”

Sarah looked up at her sister in law, surprised. Mariah seldom asked to talk. She was quiet, but Sarah could see the lines of stress around her eyes, too deep for a woman so young. She shifted, giving Mariah space to sit. “Of course. What’s wrong?”

That seemed like all the permission Mariah needed. The mask the woman had been clinging to crumbled, and fat tears sprung up in her eyes. Sarah watched the shudder wrack her body, and she set her coffee aside, taking one of Mariah’s hands. A glance at the door found Jareth there, and he was frozen in the doorway, looking at the young woman. His eyes flicked to hers and she gave a short shake of her head.

He pulled the door closed between them, and she could still see his feet cast a shadow beneath the door.

Sarah got to her feet, wrapping the robe around her better and she scooted over to her and put an arm around her shoulders, then took Emily, careful to not disturb the baby that was starting to fuss because she knew something was wrong.

Mariah managed to get herself under control, lifting her shirt and drying the show of emotion from her face. When she looked at Sarah, there was panic and terror in her eyes. “I can’t have another baby, Sarah. I’m at wits end with two. But I’m too far along, now and no one will -”

Her breath hitched again, and she almost burst into tears, again. She looked at her, eyes swimming with tears, and she looked ashamed of herself.

She rubbed one of her sister’s shoulders, giving her a squeeze. “That’s why you waited so long to tell anyone. You were looking for a way out.”

She gave a miserable sounding laugh, and shrugged. “Toby’s thrilled, so are your parents. None of them would help me relieve myself of this burden if I asked them. But you and Jareth didn’t look happy about it. Toby even told me that you pinned him to the wall in the kitchen and threatened him if he got me pregnant again.”

Sarah gave a shrug, and took a steadying breath. “Like I told him, you are exhausted, and he’s being irresponsible. If he’d wear a fucking condom, this wouldn’t have happened to you at all.”

She nodded her head, looking at her hands. “Is there anything I can do? I -” She stopped herself, then looked at Sarah, shame in her eyes. “I tried inducing a miscarriage when I realized. It didn’t work.”

She sucked in a sharp breath and gave Mariah a squeeze. There was something. She remembered Jareth’s words from the day before, that sometimes it was for the best that a child was wished away. But how to explain that to someone who hadn’t been through the things she had? Still, the desperation in her eyes had her working through this as a serious option.

“If I give up the child for adoption, they’ll be angry. I need a way that this will just...not happen.”

“I think I know a way.” Sarah turned towards her sister in law, lifting her face and brushing the tears away. “I have a story to tell you that I’ve never told anyone else. I’ll need you to suspend belief as much as you can until I’m done, because I know how it sounds. So, just listen, and then you can decide how much you believe it, okay?”

Mariah gave her a look that was hopeful but perplexed.

She passed the baby to her sister in law, then got her coffee, taking a long drink while she thought of how she should start. Finally, she decided to treat it like a bandaid and just go for it.

“When I was fifteen, I was a spoiled brat.” The words startled a teary laugh out of Mariah, and she gave her a bit of a smile. “I’m serious. I was petulant and angry because my parents made me stay home and babysit Toby. Toby was about the same age as Matt is, right now. It wasn’t that I had anything better to do, I wasn’t dating anyone, didn’t have too many friends. I just didn’t want to be forced to babysit every weekend. One Friday night, my parents had gone into my bedroom, this bedroom, in fact, and taken one of my things. A stuffed teddy bear I called Lancealot. Like most teenagers, I hated anyone coming into my room without permission, so I blew up. I found it on the floor of my parents room, where Toby had probably thrown it from his crib.”

She took another pull of coffee, and glanced at her sister from under her brows. Mariah was still looking at her, that perplexed look on her face.

“Sometimes, when we’re angry, we way things we don’t mean, things that can’t just be taken back. What’s said is said. And in my fit of teenage pique, I wished the Goblins would come and take Toby away.”

“I mean, I can’t say I blame you,” Mariah said, giving a watery giggle.

Sarah snorted a bit, and took another long draw from her coffee, taking another minute to think. Then, she bit her lower lip, shaking her head. “The thing is, they did it. I made that wish, said those words I couldn’t take back, and the goblins _did_ take my brother away. When their king arrived, I tried to say I didn’t mean it, and he gave me a choice. He’d give me my dreams and I’d lose my brother, or defeat him at a game of his own design and I could earn him back.”

A glance at Mariah found something like hope in her eyes. “You mean -”

“I took the risk. I stood against the King of the Goblins, fought against him to get my brother back. In the end, I succeeded. I know it sounds crazy and impossible. There’s a lot of reasons I’ve never told anyone else this story. But if you can make it through the pregnancy, I think I can help you. But only once. So, you need to talk to your doctor and you need to get on some birth control to keep this from happening again.”

Mariah’s eyes filled with tears and she lowered her face, stroking a hand over her daughter’s back.

“This isn’t what you saw for yourself, was it? As much as you love these two, you never just wanted to be a mother.”

She shook her head, and a shaky breath left her. “I wanted to go to college. But how can I do that when we’ve got two children already, and a third on the way. If not for your parents and mine, I’d probably have to work. And I love Toby, but he’s not used to the kids, yet. He tries, but he’s not comfortable holding them, and they can tell.”

Sarah bit back a particularly unflattering comment about her brother.

“You need to tell him that, then. I had a talk with him about using condoms, straight told him that he was being irresponsible and that if he kept this up, he might lose you. But you need to make sure you communicate with him, too. And if he isn’t cooperative, won’t listen, or starts acting like a prick, give me a call, and I’ll straight up wish him away again.” The words startled a laugh out of Mariah and she grinned. Then, she took her pen and a pad of paper from her messenger bag, and wrote her number on it. “Here. This is my number. Anytime you need to talk, give me a call, okay? Doesn’t matter if it’s three in the morning or not.”

Mariah took it, and nodded, a smile curving her lips. Relief had softened the stress on her face. “Thank you. And…I know this doesn’t actually matter, but I like Jareth. He seems like a good man. The world could use more men like him.”

He’s a dirty cheat, she thought, but she didn’t say it. There was a definite spring in her step when Mariah left the room and Sarah sat on her bed, cradling the coffee between her hands and looking into it. A moment later, Jareth walked in, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.

He didn’t speak at first, just looked towards the window. “She wants to unload the burden of too many children?”

“Hmm. I told her about when I wished away Toby.” She said, keeping her voice quiet. “I see what you meant, yesterday. I mean, I understood when you’d said it, but...this is more personal. Sometimes, it’s better for everyone if the child is wished away. If she wasn’t so far along, she’d get an abortion. She’d set the child up to be adopted, but she’s desperately afraid of making everyone unhappy. So she’s neglecting her own happiness.”

“When she wishes the child away, no one will remember it ever existed. Except you and Mariah, if she wishes to keep the memories.”

She blinked, looking towards him. “Why would I remember?”

“You’re the champion of the Labyrinth, and you told her your story. Of course you’d remember.” He said it so matter of fact that it made perfect sense.

“Is it still snowing?”

“No, and the car has already been dug out. Did you sleep well?”

She noticed the dampness of his pant cuff and swallowed hard, realizing he'd cleared around her car. She had a million questions, and didn’t want to ask a single one of them. She lifted her eyes and looked at him for a long moment. “I did.”

“Good,” he said, and his lips brushed against her temple. He lingered like that for a moment. “I’ll get the bags loaded in the trunk. Finish your coffee, and get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She watched him rise, and gather their bags, taking them out of the room so he could do what he’d said. A sigh left her and she drained what was left in the cup, cradling the still warm ceramic between her hands and thinking. She shook her head hard and gathered the clothes he’d left her on the dresser, heading to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet, thinking for a long moment before she shed the robe and towel and started dressing. As usual, when she was alone, her brain started overthinking things, again.

This had to be a game of cat and mouse on his part, she thought. Like with the others. That he had more experience, and was better at it than others didn’t change that. She couldn’t afford to forget that and get more tangled up with him. She needed to concentrate on her dissertation. Besides, he didn’t want her to get tangled up with him, either. He’d stated that just a few days ago.

So why was he doing things that would tangle her up?

She shook her head, pulling on a t-shirt and a sweater over that, then her panties and some warm leggings.

The whole situation was absurd, anyways. Why was the first man to turn her from her work a goddamn fae king? As much as her attraction to him was strangling her, she knew she’d have to break this off. She could manage New Years eve, and the ball she’d already agreed to. She’d have to do that for her future. She’d have to because if she let this go on any longer, she’d end up destroyed when this was all over.

She was a woman who had rejected him as a girl, she reminded herself. Her will was as strong and her power as great, and he had no power over her.

So why did that last line ring increasingly hollow?

Shaking herself, she stepped out into the hallway and found Jareth leaning against the wall waiting for her.

“Your other half,” he teased, and she saw he had her messenger bag slung over one shoulder. He lifted it off and held it out to her, a smile on his face. “I didn’t peak.”

“Thank you,” she said. She accepted the bag from him and tried to not look at him. It was difficult to harden her heart against the damnable thoughtfulness of everything he did. She took an unsteady breath, hating her brain on one hand and her heart on the other. It had been less than a week. They were always like this, early in a relationship and it always fell apart.

“Your family is waiting downstairs to say goodbye.” His hand came to rest low on her back, the weight of it there now familiar. “Mariah looks in far better spirits for the conversation you two had.”

Good, she thought. She didn’t say it out loud, but she felt it so strongly she might as well have. She heard the man beside her give a rough chuckle and glanced at him. A knowing look was on his face when he glanced back at her, as if he’d heard the thought.

When they reached the door, she gave the obligatory goodbye hugs to her family, whispering a quiet reminder to Mariah that she could call whenever she needed her. As she pulled on her coat, she saw Jareth pulled into a similar hug by her step mother as well. She wasn’t certain he liked that or not, but he sustained it, shook the other’s hands and said something quiet to Mariah that made her stare at him in shock. Whatever he said, the woman didn’t actually answer.

Outside was deceptively cold, for all the sunshine in the sky. She shivered, wrapping her coat tighter around her. A moment later, the wool coat Jareth had been wearing was draped over her shoulders. She looked towards him and saw him wearing the sweater she’d gotten him, again, as he walked the shoveled walkway to where her car was parked. He looked perfectly content in the cold weather, though she saw his nose and cheeks were already turning red from the cold.

She followed him, and when she got to the car, she handed it back to him. “Thank you.”

He gave her a smile, and opened the driver’s side door for her. The car was already running, and warm inside. Dammit.

“Not fair,” she whispered under her breath, getting into the driver’s seat and gripping the steering wheel so hard her hands ached. He paused, looking at her for a long moment, then shut the driver’s door and moved around and climbed in the passenger side, buckling without complaint. She latched her own belt, and started backing out of the driveway.

“What isn’t fair, this time, my dear?”

She got the car situated on the road, starting the long drive back, shaking her head. This wasn’t a conversation she was up to having with her head still messed up from everything that had happened over the last few days. She needed to think some more before she tried to put it into words. “Nothing.”

She could feel the weight of his gaze on her. It made her stomach start to twist itself into knots.

When he spoke, his voice had the same dark and dangerous tone that it had the night before, when he’d told her his intentions, dared her to fight back against him.

“Liar.”

She bristled, and would have turned towards him if she didn’t need to keep her focus on the road. “Now isn’t the time to talk about this, Jareth. I need to concentrate on what I’m doing. Please.”

He went silent, but she could still feel him looking at her, and could feel the temper in his gaze. It caused her stomach to keep twisting itself into knots until she finally pulled into a gas station. His hand reached into her field of vision and touched one of hers. She was still squeezing the hell out of the steering wheel, and she could feel knots of tension in her shoulders and arms.

He worked her hands free of the wheel, holding onto one and his dexterous fingers started working the cramps from them. “You say it’s a bad time to talk about this. However I disagree. We’re both here and for the first time in a few days, there isn’t anyone who can walk in on this conversation.”

She continued looking out the front of the car, and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

“Is this about last night?”

He was so direct about it, his voice calm and quiet, that her heart twisted in pain, again.

“No, it’s not just that. It’s...it’s everything, Jareth.”

Silence answered her words, and she looked over at him. There was displeasure in his eyes, and his lips were twisted into a bit of a frown. 

“Everything?” That same displeasure she saw in his face was clear in his voice.

“Look,” she started, trying not to panic. “You’re too good at this. And when it’s over, I’m going to end up bruised over it. You already established that you aren’t interested in getting involved with a mortal woman and I can’t afford to let myself be distracted by you, either. I don’t know if this is some kind of game to you, some challenge, but I’m not here for that. I need to finish my paper, and I’ve got little time left to do that.”

The silence that followed was thunderous. He released her hand, turned away from her and looked out the window. She could see the tightness in his jaw from him grinding his teeth, clenching his jaw.

“So, you’re saying that I’m a distraction so I’m inconvenient?” His voice was cold and hard, and she felt fear prickle along her nerves.

He was turning this around on her, dammit. This wasn’t her fault.

“That isn’t what I said.” She wasn’t certain how she managed to speak, because her heart was pounding in her throat.

“Then what _are_ you saying?” His voice held that command for answer, that whip crack of temper that she had learned to recognize these last few days. Had she ever known a man well enough to recognize things like that?

She put her hands back on the steering wheel, staring out the window, feeling him turn to look at her. She bore the weight of that glare, taking deep breaths to keep herself calm. Staring at the overcast sky, she wondered how to explain this to him.

“I’m saying that I’m the one becoming an inconvenience, Jareth. To both of us.”

When she looked back at him, she saw the temper drain out of his gaze, left with something else. Speculative interest, again, the sort of look he gave her when he was trying to read her, she realized. She couldn’t give either of them room for any of that, so she forced the next words out of herself.

“I’ll finish out the contract, I’ll go to the ball on New Years Eve. But I think it’s best for us both if we stop this after that.”


	9. Fear and Separation

“I’ll finish out the contract, I’ll go to the ball on New Years Eve. But I think it’s best for us both if we stop this after that.”

From the corner of her eyes, Sarah could see Jareth’s face darken like the sky before a storm. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look out the windshield to avoid seeing the temper there. When he spoke, his voice was colder than the weather outside.

“I see.”

Two words just dripping with anger, but not looking at him, there was something under that tone that caused her heart to twist with pain, again. She swallowed hard, chewing her lower lip, trying to ignore the nerves.

“I don’t expect you to understand. Most people don’t.”

“Oh, I think I understand quite well, _Sarah._ ”

The way he dropped the affectionate tone was like a dagger in her heart and she flinched. She turned and looked at him, seeing the storm in his eyes, the temper and rage and that something else she was afraid to identify because it would make her guilty of something terrible.

She loved his eyes, she realized. Even so filled with anger, they were beautiful. When he looked like this, it was easier to remember that he wasn’t human, that he was a fae king and she’d basically dumped him. Again.

She felt the urge to beg his forgiveness, to grovel, but her throat had stopped working and her hands were holding the steering wheel to keep herself from reaching towards him.

“Shall I explain it to you?” The snarl in his tone quickened her pulse, but like the night before she couldn’t tell if it was from fear or arousal. 

Her words were still trapped in her throat, refusing to leave her, so she nodded her head, trying to tear her gaze from his.

“You’re afraid.”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head, looking away from him. “I’m not scared of you.”

That was only partially a lie, right then. She wasn’t scared he’d hurt her, even though right then he was being intimidating as hell.

“I never said you were,” he growled, and this time his voice was close and she looked back, finding him leaning towards her. There was a sneer on his face. She shifted, pressing her body back against the door of the car, sucking in a surprised breath. “You see, my dear, your family weren’t the only ones asking questions. I had plenty of opportunity to ask my own. So I’m very aware that you aren’t afraid of me. You’d have never let me touch you in the first place if you were, wouldn’t have agreed to the contract I wrote up. Never mind last night, if you were afraid of me, we’d have never reached this point in the first place. You’re afraid of yourself.”

Her breath rushed out of her, and she started to shake her head. Then, he shifted, his safety belt loose, and he leaned over the console between them. Now he was leaning over her, his face so close she couldn’t see anything but his eyes. They were a ring of blue surrounding an abyss, right then. Her hands lifted, and she wasn’t certain if she wanted to grab him or push him away.

“It was easy, wasn’t it, when it was just a walk-away? No heart or feelings involved, just trick your parents into thinking you’re in a relationship, and that’s fine. The problem is, my dear, feelings got involved and that scared the fuck out of you, didn’t it? You panicked, because you think that this is win or lose. Unfortunately for you, someone else made a deal with me while we were there.” She blinked and saw a smile on his face, a taunting smile that reminded her, again, of when he stood above her eighteen years ago. “Your father asked that I keep looking after you, not leave even if you’re difficult or push me away.”

She couldn’t argue any of that, because it was all true. Then, her brain caught his last words, and she sputtered. “You -?!”

He inclined his head, that taunting smile still in place. 

“Oh, yes. I agreed to it. Shook his hand over it, even. You see, he told me that you would panic, that you were so certain that you couldn’t have a relationship while you finished school that you’d inevitably try to shove me away. I was wondering how long it would take for that panic to set in. So tell me, my dear Sarah, should I back out of a deal with your father because you’re getting skittish?”

She opened her mouth, false-starting, and shook her head. This maneuvering little bastard -

“You think you’re becoming inconvenient for me, precious thing. But you don’t get to make a decision like that for me. You’re running scared, because you’re starting to want me. I wouldn’t have set hand on you, last night if I didn’t think that was the case, and if it wasn’t you wouldn’t have let me.”

She wanted to deny it, even started to do so. Then, he leaned that last inch between them and caught her lips with his.

Whatever she’d been going to say was tossed right out of her head, and she lifted a hand, catching the crisp collar of his shirt, holding him there, unable to stop her instant response. Deep in her brain she groaned, because she’d played right into the bastard’s hands, but he didn’t pull back to taunt her. She heard the click of her seat belt, and then his hands found her waist and she was pulled from her seat until she was in his lap, straddling his thighs.

She jerked back, staring at him through wide eyes.

He looked up at her from under his brows, his pupils so wide, they almost swallowed all of the blue of his eyes. “You’re charging a head, making decisions without discussing anything with the other party involved. I don’t like that, my dear. So we’re going to talk through this. If you can give me a reason that’s less stupid than you becoming a hypothetical inconvenience to me, I’ll walk away after New Years Eve with no questions asked.”

She felt the walls she’d built around herself starting to crumble. Swallowing hard, she lowered her head, trembling. A breath shook out of her and she bit her lower lip, hard. “Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting me on this?”

“Because, Sarah,” he said, and his voice was as quiet as her own. “I enjoy spoiling you and talking with you and sharing meals with you. I want you. If you can say with an ounce of honesty that you don’t want me, like I said, I’ll walk away at the end of this contract, no question. But you can’t do that, can you?”

She couldn’t but there wasn’t a chance she was going to admit that. She shook herself, remembering what he’d said before. Her head hung, and she felt his forehead against the crown of her head. She curled her hands into fists against his shoulders. “You said you didn’t want to get involved with a human when this all started. Why change your mind, now?”

“That’s true. As it happens, however, you complicated things from day one when you stepped out of the dressing room before the Yule ball, whether you intended to or not. I, for one, haven’t found any of those complications particularly problematic.”

She shook her head, trying to think. “I have my paper, Jareth. I can’t do the relationship thing -”

“And I already understood that. I won’t come between you and it.” His hands found her face, lifting it up and she looked at him, swallowing her comments when she saw the look in his eyes. “This doesn’t have to be all or nothing, Sarah. You are allowed to have more than one thing that is important to you in your life. I’m not asking you to set it aside in favor of me, I haven’t put the work in to even joke about something like that, and I know it.”

Not fair, she thought. She’d been thinking that too often, lately, and always when he was involved. She curled towards him, hiding her face against his shoulder so he couldn’t see it. Her breath hitched and for a moment, she thought she’d cry. She felt his hands stroking over her hair, down her back, leaving a warm trail in their wake. She bit her lower lip hard, trying to think.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Jareth.”

His lips brushed her ear when he spoke. “You’ve been doing just fine, so far. You don’t need to stress yourself over this. I’m not asking you to dive in headfirst into bed with me, or to set aside everything that matters to you. I’m simply asking that you not try to jump ship when there isn’t even a problem. You can focus on your paper, and let me keep focusing on you. As I’ve mentioned once or twice, you have all the time in the world at your fingertips. You need only ask for it.”

She swallowed hard, sitting up and searching his eyes for a long moment. “This is scary.”

“Yes,” he agreed, not diminishing her fears. His hands found her face, cupping it and not letting her hide in his shoulder again. 

“You aren’t human.”

He gave a nod, acknowledging that as well.

She blinked her eyes hard, trying to keep herself from crying. “You’ll get tired of me.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” he said, inclining his head.

“Based on what, Jareth? I’ve seen every relationship I’ve ever had fall apart because I’m just…” She bit her lip hard, and his thumb worked to tug it free from the pressure. “Even before the paper was an issue. I’m not good at any of this.”

He gestured and she saw he had her novel in his hands again and she felt heat rush to her face. He was smirking at her, that look in his eyes again. “Based on this, for a start. I mentioned before, finding someone this compatible with you increases convenience, not reduces. I admit I found that a bit of a surprise, and I’ve been checking from the start if my instincts were correct. And you’ve quite lived up to my expectations.”

She tried to grab for the book and he pulled it just out of her reach, still grinning at her. “Jareth, that’s -”

“I mentioned to you last night that I’d noticed this several times. You liked me taking care of you and even if you thought I was being a bully, you never once told me to stop. You liked that I was observant enough to do so, successfully as well. Your pulse quickens when I trap you, eyes dilate, face flushes. It arouses you.”

She groaned in embarrassment and would have hidden her face again, but he caught her chin, not letting her.

“Finally, my dear, last night you could have told me to back off, that you didn’t want or need that sort of assistance from me. Instead you said the one word that I would need for permission to do exactly what I said I would. And between us, you made quite eloquent your enjoyment.”

She was certain she was the same shade of red as the flowers on her sweater. She looked at him, her breaths hitching in her chest, because even as matter of fact as he was being about it, his words were turning her on.

His hands slid along her arms until they found hers, and she felt him working her fingers loose. He laced their hands together and she watched him press a soft kiss against the back of each. “You are so afraid that this won’t or couldn’t work out, Sarah. But we have a compatibility that your family already made note of. The only person involved who thinks that this is failure waiting to happen is you. I’m not walking away.”

“The contract -”

“Can burn for all I care. Have we stepped outside of the bounds of it, simply by the relationship becoming a real one, as opposed to a false one? Does it being real make it less advantageous?”

She heaved a long sigh, and looked at him again. “I can’t think.”

He caught her chin, again, leaning close and giving her a slow, thorough kiss that absolutely didn’t help her think a wit better. Then, he leaned back, again, his eyes searching hers.

“For now, you don’t need to, my dear. For now, I think you should move your adorable backside back to the driver’s seat and we should get you home. If needed, I could transport the car and everything in it, including us, however that sort of heavy lifting will leave me largely useless to you.”

She took a steadying breath and nodded, then did as he said, buckling her belt and leaving the gas station she’d pulled into, continuing the drive, and doing her best to not overthink or look over at the passenger.

As before, Jareth kept the music playing, giving her something to focus on other than the man beside her. On occasion, his hand would brush against hers. Sometimes, she would cling to his hand, as if scared he’d just vanish, and other times, she’d pretend she didn’t notice, and moved her hand away. It took most of the drive with her fighting herself to decide that she was panicking, like he’d claimed. She wasn’t sure if she liked that he had her that figured out in such a short time. But if he was really okay with her, with them, she really didn’t have a good excuse to object in the first place.

It still scared the hell out of her.

When they got back to her apartment, she didn’t bother worrying about what was in the trunk. She barely took the time to get her coat back on before she walked upstairs in a daze. She grabbed a glass, and the vodka from her freezer, pouring herself a full glass of it. Right before she lifted it to down the contents, Jareth put his hand on the glass, holding it against the kitchen counter.

She heard the door shut, and stared down at his gloved hand, then followed it up his arm to his face. He’d released the magic that held his glamor. Feral eyes looked into hers, and his expression was leaning towards the bossy, bullying side and she could tell. For a moment, she wondered why she was so good at reading these changes in his expression.

“This isn’t a situation that you can drink your way out of, Sarah.” He slid the glass away from her and she swallowed hard. With a gesture, her luggage appeared in her apartment living room.

Her nerves were scratching at her, and she looked up at him. “Jareth, I’m not any good at this sort of thing.”

“Nor do I expect you to be, darling.” His voice was very quiet. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her down the hallway to her bedroom. “For now, you’re going to lay down and rest. This isn’t a negotiation. You just had a very long drive, and you need it.”

She blinked, looking at him in confusion. “What?”

He opened the door to her room, walking in with her and shutting it behind them. “Besides you taking a nap, I have to go back to my kingdom and check on things there. Including the goblin that was wished away yesterday morning.”

She turned, confused and looked at him for a long time.

“You were thinking that I was going to throw you down on your bed and have my wicked way with you?” The smile that curved his lips was all sharp teeth and amusement. “Right now? In the middle of the day? No need to answer, darling, I can see it on your face.”

She knew he could, the bastard, she could feel the blush on her cheeks. She sputtered, unable to find the words she needed to tell him off.

He stepped towards her, again, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. She looked up at him, wide-eyed at the sudden shift from teasing to serious.

“You can ease into this. We both have our own responsibilities that we must give our focus. Right now is one of those times for me.” He leaned forward, and his lips brushed against her forehead, then her mouth, just a brief caress. “Take some time and think what I said over. Without drinking yourself into a stupor over nothing. You’ll thank yourself later.”

She shook her head, trying to clear it. “Does this mean you want to be my boyfriend for real?”

“If that word makes you comfortable with the matter, then fine. However, don’t expect me to use it. We can work on that, later.” He sighed, shaking his head. “My goblins have been left to their own devices for too long, and have no doubt been getting into trouble. So I must go.”

There was a pause, and he seemed to consider something for a long moment. “Unless you’d care to come along, darling?”

The suggestion surprised her. Not a date, she thought. This amounted to him inviting her over to his place. She gave it serious thought, and he waited with patience. Finally, she gave a tentative shake of her head. “Not this time, I think.”

“Hmm,” he said, lifting a hand and brushing his fingertips against her cheek. “Perhaps next, then.”

She half-expected him to just disappear, but he seemed to hesitate a moment, his hand still curved against her cheek. A smile curved his lips and he leaned close to her ear, his breath teasing against it.

“Miss me a little bit, alright?”

She didn’t have a chance to answer, because he vanished and all that remained was a trace of glitter hanging in the air in front of her, dropping to the carpet where he’d once stood.

She stared for a long moment, at where he’d been, turning his words over in her head. She thought for a long moment about doing what he’d said, about laying down and trying to nap. But he hadn’t put a sleep spell on her, this time, and with her brain and heart a snarled mess of emotions, she didn’t think she’d sleep a wink if she tried.

Taking a deep breath, she went and got her vodka and her dissertation. She dug out a red pen from her messenger bag and sat at the dinner table, doing her best to concentrate on the paper. She was doing her best to forget how big this damned apartment felt when he wasn’t there. She spent her evening sipping the vodka, rather than chugging it like she still felt like she needed to. She worked through a fair bit before she realized she was doodling his name in the margins of the paper, and she gave a heavy sigh, smacking her head against the table.

She was thirty three years old. She shouldn’t be acting like a teenager with her first crush.

But that was the rub, wasn’t it. He had been her first crush. 

She turned the glass in her hands, giving a quiet sigh of discontent. Was she running without a reason? Her distraction, tonight had more to do with the thoughts she’d managed to leave herself to chew on. Spending time with her didn’t seem like a particularly difficult task for him, and she liked spending time with him, too. He was charming and thoughtful, and he took interest in what she was interested in.

She wasn't sure being in a relationship with a fae king was going to be easy. She’d already come to understand that he had his own responsibilities, so he’d hardly smother her, and he was insistent that he wouldn’t pull her away from her own work. He understood how important this was to her.

Eventually, her nerves were fuzzed enough that she felt sleepy. She crawled into her bed, expecting to fall straight to sleep, but she found herself tossing and turning. Realizing that sharing a bed with him had made hers feel too big made her grumpy, and she grabbed her blankets, and set herself up on her couch.

She woke to coffee in the machine, but Jareth wasn’t there. She made herself a thermos of coffee and decided to go to the library. Before she left, she took a moment, penning a note and leaving it by the carafe. She hesitated for a moment, and then lifted it, kissing the paper, leaving a bit of her chapstick behind. Then, she scooped up her bag and headed towards the library.

She started working on the edits she’d made, there, relieved that she could still focus on it. 

On occasion, her mind drifted to the sound of his laugh, the curve of his lips when he smiled, the sharp flash of his teeth. But for the most part, she managed. She worked most of the day, drinking the coffee he’d made for her, until she headed home at seven at night.

As she walked home, fat, fluffy snow started falling and she wrapped her coat around herself, looking up at it without the malice that she had just a few days ago. Had it really been only a week, she wondered.

She picked up some take out from a Chinese place near her apartment, and when she got home, she found the note she’d left on the counter was gone. She felt a little twist of disappointment because she must have missed him, but she sat at the table and dug out her paper, picking at her dinner while she worked on the next set of updates to work on the next day.

She slept on the couch again, and woke to find the blankets tucked up around her, and coffee in the pot, again. A sigh was wrung out of her, and she started another day’s routine, wondering if everything was okay on the other side of the veil. Maybe he had just gotten tired of her, but then why would he still come by, even when he wouldn’t see her? Why would he have taken her note with him yesterday?

She left him another note, and went back to the library, ready to repeat the previous day. She was glad she had the paper to focus on because it was probably the only damn thing that kept her from dwelling on the Goblin King. Still, rather than closing the library up late, she forced herself to go home a little earlier, knowing that she was hoping that she’d see him there. Around five, she stumbled through the door, and looked around, giving a quiet sigh. 

She could see in the dusk light, that her apartment was empty.

She hated admitting that she was disappointed, but she found the carafe emptied, cleaned out, and the note she’d left him was gone, again. In its place was a return note in his clear hand, letting her know her milk would turn soon, and that she should pick up some more. She traced her fingers over it, a quiet sigh leaving her. Rather than complaining, she pulled out her leftover Chinese, picking at it while she kept working.

She wasn’t aware of how long she’d been working, but her eyes started to feel strained in the dark. She was ready to go turn on the light when it clicked on, and she blinked, wincing in the sudden brightness. Lifting her gaze, she found Jareth standing by the light switch, leaning on the wall and looking at her with that affectionate exasperation in his gaze.

She shot to her feet, surprised to see him there. He walked towards her, and she noted that he looked like himself, no glamor in place, dressed like he’d walked out of a fairy tale. The closer he got, the more she noticed that he looked tired, and she wondered if anything had happened while he was gone. She stepped around the table towards him, finding a strange worry gnawing at her that she didn’t want to admit to.

“Are you alright?” The words escaped her, even if she didn’t want them to.

He gave her a smile, the weariness in his eyes worrying her. When he sank into the chair, she noted the bags under his eyes, and she stepped towards him.

“I would apologize for the hour, darling, but it seems you haven’t been to bed, yet, either.”

“No,” she agreed. She set her hand over one of his gloved ones, biting her lower lip. Words seemed to stick in her throat and she swallowed hard. Then, she stepped towards him, drawing his head against her chest, stroking her fingers through his downy hair.

He’d dodged her question, which she supposed was answer enough.

His arms lifted, wrapping around her waist and just holding her close. Then, he lifted his head, and the light in his eyes told her that he must be feeling well enough to be bossy.

“Have you eaten?”

She sighed, a smile curving her lips, and she saw her half-eaten left-overs still sitting largely untouched on the table. “I think I had a few bites of that.”

Exasperation and the sharp edge of one of his smiles. He didn’t tease her about it, didn’t mention finding her asleep on her couch rather than in bed. Instead, he started to get to his feet.

She saw his muscle in his jaw go rigid and noticed he seemed to be having a bit of difficulty. She set her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back into the chair, looking him in the eyes. Temper flashed in his gaze, but she held him there, and she got ready to pit her stubbornness against his.

“I’ll make myself something to eat if you promise to not get up, right now.”

Surprise in his eyes, and his lips pulled into a grimace. Still, he relaxed against the chair, a smile finding its way back to his face. “Are you bullying me, Sarah?”

“Fair’s fair,” she said, trying for tart.

A laugh bubbled out of him and he looked up at her. “Very well, I promise I will not get up, right now.”

“Do you want something, too?” She asked, as she walked around him to the counter, making herself a peanut butter sandwich.

He gave a chuckle and there was that dark, sexy edge to it. “Nothing I’ve the energy for. But if there’s coffee left, I’ll be glad for that.”

She turned back to the counter and poured him a cup, and after a moment, made one for him as well. It wasn’t too much work to make sure he ate something, too, she thought. She set the plates on the table, and the mug in front of him. He blinked, looked at the sandwich and then up at her. She gave him a smile.

“Can’t refuse gifts of food, right, so you’re going to eat it.”

He gave a quiet chuckle, nodding in understanding. He picked up the sandwich, starting on it and she worked on hers, watching him over the top of hers. 

As she finished, she leaned back, taking a steadying breath. “What happened?”

She knew he heard the change in her voice, because he looked up at her, as though perplexed. 

“I don’t follow, darling.”

“You’re exhausted. What happened?”

Understanding in his eyes and he gave a quiet sigh, nodding, and he took a long pull off the coffee.

“What usually happens during the holidays. Between several unexpected and uninvited guests, the goblins setting part of the Labyrinth on fire - don’t ask me how - and four wished away children in a day and a half, I admit, I haven’t slept a wink since I left here.”

She blinked, surprised and touched, because even though it was obvious he was exhausted, he still came to see her. She swallowed hard, reaching a hand towards him, wrapping her fingers around his. “And I don’t imagine you popping back and forth across the veil a few times a day is helping you rest.”

“Touche,” he said, and sighed, holding her hand in his. “I should return. I just wanted to see you.”

Her heart ached and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You could stay.”

“Sarah,” he said, and she readied herself to dig her heels in.

“You’re exhausted, Jareth. I know coming here uses a lot of your energy. If you’re so insistent on taking care of me, let me do the same when I can.” She looked him in the eyes, the confusing snarl of emotions smoothing out a bit. “Stay the night, with me. We’ll both rest better if you do.”

She’d said that last bit to give him a little more reason to stay, because he’d be more likely to take care of himself if he was doing it to take care of her. She knew it because she was just as bad.

He closed his eyes, and when he looked at her, there was a smile on his face. “Haven’t been sleeping well without me, have you?”

The tease was light, but it hit the mark. She felt a flush creep on her cheeks and she swallowed hard, stroking her thumb against the back of his hand.

“No better than you have.”

He gave her a smile and reached across the table, brushing her hair from her face. It took her a moment before she could squeeze out the words that had been trapped in her throat since she’d seen him.

“I missed you,” she said, looking him in the eyes.

“Usually this is turned the other way for us, isn’t it?” He teased, drawing her hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss against it.

She nodded in acknowledgement of that. She took a steadying breath, looking at him, and trying to say what she needed to. It was hard. But she managed to get the words she needed to get out.

“I can’t make any promises, Jareth. Not the way I am, my history won’t let me. But I want to try, if that can be enough?”

He looked surprised, again. She wasn’t surprised. He probably figured she was here overthinking. But she thought she’d made clear enough that she cared about him, tonight. He got to his feet, and pulled her to hers, drawing her close, looking her in the eyes.

“You’re sure?”

She grinned at him. “The only thing I’ve ever been more sure about was my dissertation. And I’ve never had one of those blow up in my face, before. So, yes. I’m sure.”


	10. Spells and New Years

Over the next three days, Sarah didn’t see Jareth any more often than she’d seen him the two days after she got home from visiting her parents. She’d suspected that would be the case after he’d broken everything that happened the two days before. Even on nights he didn’t stay in her bed, she knew he’d popped in briefly, because when she woke, she always found fresh coffee in the pot, and when she’d stumble into the kitchen, there would be breakfast on the table, waiting for her.

She didn’t know if he was crawling into her bed for a few hours of sleep each night, but she did hope he was getting adequate rest. She doubted he was. She was getting a sneaking suspicion that he was just as bad about overworking himself as she was. And still, he would try to make sure she was cared for during whatever down time he had.

When she woke the morning of the thirty first, it was to the sight of him dozing beside her in bed. She’d considered the night before getting up and going to the library, but the warmth beside her made it clear that wasn’t going to happen before she even shifted and saw him.

As she shifted, his arm tightened over her waist and he opened his eyes, looking into hers.

“Good morning,” she said, keeping her voice low and slipping her arm over his waist. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”

“You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you,” he said, his own voice still a bit rough with sleep. She smiled and lowered her eyes, snuggling against him. In answer, his arms tightened around her midsection, holding her close.

“Busy week?”

“This time of year always is,” he laughed.

She hesitated for a moment, then snuggled under his chin. He tensed for a moment, then a sigh left him like she’d wrung it out of him and his arms at her waist drew her tighter against him.

“Another ball, tonight?”

“Biggest of the year, if I’m honest. The fae love new beginnings, and this is the biggest in awhile. New century, new millenia. If you thought the start of Yule was a big deal, this will come as a surprise.” He went quiet for a moment. “Most of the faces will be familiar. It’s being hosted in Gwales, again.”

“Goody,” she said, making sure her voice had that dry, sarcastic edge to it.

He chuckled, and shifted so he could look at her face. “Given a choice, I’d rather stay right here with you, all day. But it’s rude to not show up when you’ve already accepted the invitation.”

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she would have buried her face against his chest to hide it, but his hand slid to her jaw, holding her still. He shifted, rolling her he was looking down at her, that damn smirk hovering above her and she thought he was going to kiss her.

She relaxed into the caress of his hand, her lips parted, and her eyes closed, breath sighing out of her.

“You’re looking very alluring, right now, darling,” he said, and there was a bit of a growl in his voice that made her libido surge. “But as much as I’d like to take what you’re offering, if we’re ever going to get out of this bed, I can’t.”

She flushed and opened her eyes, taking a steadying breath.

He was grinning, but there was genuine regret in the look on his face, as if he really hadn’t wanted to say that. A sigh huffed out of her and she tugged him back down so she could continue snuggling him, at least. She almost said it wasn’t fair, but she bit the words back, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of him. That helped calm her racing heart.

“Do I even want to know how late in the day it is?”

“Probably not,” he admitted, and she felt him move. Then he sat, and she found herself curled up against his chest, his arms still holding her close. “We’ll need to go soon, if we’re going to make it to this damn party.”

A sigh escaped her and she lifted her head, looking at the clock. “Ew.”

“Indeed,” he chuckled against her hair.

She felt his fingers working along her scalp, down to the nape of her neck and her head fell against his chest again and she decided to ignore it for a moment. “Well, your majesty. I never thought I’d say this to anyone before, but I don’t like that I haven’t gotten to see you much this week. So, we go when you’re ready and not a second sooner.”

There was a deep rumble in his chest, and he kept working muscles that were sore from leaning over books too long. “We’ve already crossed the veil, darling. Around when your head landed back on my chest. I moved us to your dressing room, and so we’re safe from prying eyes for the moment.”

“Pity,” she sighed in disappointment, and she lifted her head to look at him, seeing the black marble walls behind him.

“Isn’t it?” He gave her a smile, and his fingers dusted over her jaw moments before his lips found hers. It was a soft kiss, and lasted less than a breath. “Pan will be along to assist you shortly. I think it’s best if I don’t, because we’ll be very late if I even try to.”

He rolled off the couch they’d transported in on, and his eyes raked over her. When they met hers, she saw everything she would ever need to know about what he’d rather be doing. She stared up at him, letting him see that they were of like minds on the matter. His eyes widened a bit, and then he turned and left the room.

She stared after him, her breath hitching in her chest as she half-lay where he left her. A quick glance down found her t-shirt rucked up to her hips, pale blue butterfly lace had been the only thing that had hidden her from his gaze. A groan left her and she arranged her shirt so it hung down to her thighs again and tried to fan away the intense blush that had suffused her cheeks from how he’d looked at her.

There was a faint cracking sound which drew her attention and she blinked, turning. The same goblin who had helped her before was looking up at her with a toothy smile.

“Pan”, Jareth had called it, she remembered and she crouched to smile at it.

“You’re here to help me, again, today?” She asked, remembering the goblin’s skills clearly. She hadn’t even recognized herself when she’d first looked in the mirror.

It nodded, eyes shining. “Lady should get dressed.”

It’s voice was rough, scratchy and deep, but there was a feminine quality to it. Sarah gave the goblin a wide smile and nodded, hopping to her feet, and looking around for the gown.

When she found it, she was again reminded that Jareth had an excellent eye and impeccable taste for things like this. She pulled the deep blue gown from the dressform with a gasp of delight, holding it to her chest and looking in the mirror. Lace accented the bodice and capped her shoulders, giving the illusion of support. Sparkling crystals were sewn to the bodice and skirts, shining like stars on the dark blue silk. The skirts were full, and there was a short train in the back of the dress as well.

“Oh my goblins,” she managed, taking a moment to admire the gown before setting it over the back of the couch and changing out of her t-shirt. Once she’d changed into the gown, the Goblin started lacing the back up. She looked at her reflection and bit her lower lip, fingers brushing over the full, soft skirts.

The Goblin King had out done himself, again, she thought. A soft smile curved her lips.

The gown suited and flattered her perfectly. The bodice pushed her already generous cleavage to greater advantage, and hugged her, giving her curves an hourglass shape.

On the vanity, she found the jewelry box she’d received at Christmas, and opened it, finding the beautiful chandelier earrings he’d given her for Christmas. Inside was also a stunning sapphire and diamond necklace that would catch anyone’s eyes. She was almost glad he’d gone with the earrings for Christmas. Her mother might have fainted if she’d seen the rest of the jewels.

A blush warmed her cheeks, and she remembered what he’d said about enjoying spoiling her. Setting her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing pulse, she made a decision. She’d enjoy herself, tonight. Whatever ended up happening with him, long term, she would do her best to live in each moment with him, for now.

The thought was terrifying and exciting. It wasn’t a decision she’d made before. No other man had ever made her _want_ to make such a decision.

The goblin worked tirelessly on her hair and make-up. It wove her hair up into a twist, and as Sarah watched, twisted little coils of hair so that it curled softly, and when the goblin released it, the curls held. It pinned a comb into her hair, that fanned out through the curls, and looked like constellations, like stars had come to rest in her dark hair. Her eyes ended up with a deep blue shadow that smoked out to black on the edges, with a shimmer at the corner. From the dark corner, it started toppling dark glitter, and as it worked up her forehead and down her cheeks, the glitter brightened until it was just luminous sparkles on her face. She was given a sharp contour beneath her cheekbone, giving her the same not-quite-human look Jareth’s face had. Her lips were painted a shimmery shade of pink. The goblin darkened and lengthened her lashes, again, and filled her brows to perfection.

The final look was magical and took her breath away as usual. She swallowed hard and turned, taking the goblin’s hands, smiling at it. 

“Thank you.”

It’s face broke into a smile as if she’d just given it a king’s ransom. Then, with a sharp crack, it vanished as suddenly as it had arrived.

She took a steadying breath, setting the earrings into her ears, and the necklace at her throat. She found comfortable silk slippers that she suspected she could dance in all night. Laid out with care, she found dark blue tulle opera gloves, which she slipped on her arms and looked at herself in the mirror.

Ever since Jareth had come back into her life, he’d been making her feel like a queen, she noted.

It made her wonder for a moment, how he’d treat his queen, and she felt a surge of jealousy that she didn’t want to admit to. Just thinking about him treating another woman how he’d been treating her made her heart ache and gave her uncomfortable feelings. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like thinking about it.

Taking a shaking breath, she headed out of her dressing room, and upon finding his empty, she headed towards the hallway. She found her escort standing there, cornered by Queen Georgine and Prince Titian. His back was against the wall and his expression was one that she’d not seen often since they’d started their arrangement. She remembered her purpose here, and didn’t need to feign the jealousy she felt at seeing someone hanging on the arm of her boyfriend. She closed the door behind her, and turned towards them.

When she gave Jareth her full attention, she felt like she’d been the one punched in the guts.

Familiar. Grey watered silk cravat, blue frock coat with diamante at the wrists and cuffs. Black trousers and boots. White silk gloves. A splash of glitter and dark blue streaks in his wild hair.

The peach dream.

Seeing Georgine hanging on him, while he wore that outfit almost sent her into a rage. So she lowered her head, looking down for a moment, then lifted her eyes to Jareth again. She still felt that gut punch, seeing him like that, but she could control her reaction, now. As her gaze lifted, Jareth’s eyes found her.

A surge of pleasure escaped her when his eyes fixed on her. That gut punch expression on his face, and he straightened against the wall, all of his focus now on her. He moved away from Georgine, towards her, not seeming to hear or see the other fae standing nearby. She gave him a modest curtsy, lowering her eyes as he moved towards her. When he was in front of her, she lifted her eyes to his, and he took her hand, giving her a slow turn.

“I really must give that goblin a raise,” he said, mostly to himself. “You’re a vision, darling.”

A stunned expression on Georgine’s face, an appraising one on Titian’s when she glanced back at them. Then, as Sarah watched, Georgine’s expression fell, and she looked away. Her arm looped through her consort’s and she pulled him down the hallway away from them. It was the face of a woman who had admitted defeat, Sarah realized, and she didn’t like the feeling of pity that came over her any more than she’d liked the jealousy that had strangled her when she’d seen her holding his arm.

Jareth seemed oblivious to the other’s exit. He was just drinking her in, or getting drunk off of her, she couldn’t tell which. She stepped towards him, setting her other hand in his and gave them a squeeze.

“Jareth,” she said, keeping her voice quiet. “Can we afford to get lost in each other, here?”

He startled at her words, closed his eyes and shook his head as if to clear it. His eyes focused on hers, and she saw hunger in his.

“No, you’re right.” He said, and his voice was a low growl that did wonderful things to her body and shorted vital parts of her brain out. “Come along, precious. We should be fashionably late, now.”

He offered his arm, and she slipped hers through, standing close to him. As they moved through the halls, Sarah told him the reaction Georgine had when he’d seen her. He exhaled through his nose, a frown pulling on his lips.

“I hope this hasn’t caused diplomatic problems for me,” he said, his voice quiet. “Insulting a queen, even as a king, could cause political havoc.”

“She didn’t look insulted. She looked…”

Pained, resigned. Like she’d conceded defeat to a mortal.

“If anyone has cause for insult, I suspect it’s Titian. I didn’t see his reaction,” Sarah admitted. “The Queen just looked like she’d resigned herself.”

They entered the ballroom, and a hush went over the room. Sarah felt eyes on them, and she kept her eyes on her date, not looking away from him. She didn’t fancy being spellbound, and remembered too well what Jareth had said the previous time. Then, again, keeping her eyes on him wasn’t difficult.

“Pity they distracted me, I was most curious what your reaction to my outfit this evening would be.”

He stopped with her in the middle of the dancefloor and she lifted her gaze towards him, and her lips curved into a smile as he drew her close.

“My reaction was that you’re a dirty cheat, your majesty,” she said, seeing the pleased flash in his eyes.

“Oh?”

“That’s the same suit you wore in my peach dream.”

“Is it?” There was a laugh in his voice, but he played naive. “I wasn’t aware.”

“Liar.”

He grinned at her, and she grinned back. As the music started, he swept her into the dance and she found she didn’t have any trouble at all, keeping her eyes on him. No more than she had all those years ago.

She’d lost count of how many turns they’d made on the floor before Jareth insisted that she take a break that, honestly she hadn’t wanted to take. But she let him bully her, guiding her over to the tables, getting her to sit down and eat and have some fruit drink that tasted of rum. He kept himself between her and the swirling dancers, and they talked and flirted.

She wondered if she was feeling brave enough for all the promises he was giving her with his eyes alone.

The break lasted for almost an hour before Titian walked up with Georgine at his side.

“In the spirit of the holiday, could I have your partner for a dance, Jareth?”

Jareth looked towards her, and she swallowed hard, feeling her stubbornness creep in. She didn’t want to dance with Titian, but she also didn’t want to look like she was weak, either. She was getting something strange from the other man, and she didn’t like it at all.

“That would be up to Lady Sarah, not me,” Jareth said, looking back at them, his gaze devoid of any sort of emotion either way. She could feel the tension in his arm, though, and knew he didn’t want to let her dance with them, either.

She gave his arm a squeeze, and leaned close to him. “I’ll be alright, Jareth.”

Jareth got to his feet and offered her his hand so she could rise as well. He leaned towards her, as well, and his fingers lifted to one of her earrings. “If he tries anything, you don’t even need to say my name. Just think it as hard as you can.”

She blinked in confusion, and watched as he stepped back, his fingers caressing that earring and teasing over her neck as he did. He turned towards Georgine, and offered his hand. The gesture was courteous, and he didn’t look at Georgine how he’d looked at her, so she was able to control the envy she felt. When Titian extended his hand to her, she fixed her gaze to a spot on his jacket, and didn’t look him in the eyes at all.

On the dance floor, Titian attempted on several occasions to coax her closer to him, but she maintained her distance, not allowing him to do so. They turned on the floor, and she could feel the creature getting increasingly agitated. They passed by a pillar, and his arm grabbed hers, and he drug her from the sea of swirling dancers, and pulled her behind it, pinning her hard against the column. His hand grabbed her face hard, forcing it up to his, and he pushed his body close to hers, a snarl in his voice.

This snarl caused only fear, and she bit the inside of her lip, refusing to look at him.

“You think that eye contact is the only way to spellbind someone, your foolish little mortal. You insult my queen, and think that you can escape punishment?”

Lips pressed against hers, bruisingly hard. She struggled against him, and smelled something that reminded her of rotting fruits, just a little too sweet to be pleasant. Magic. He was trying to spellbind her.

_Jareth!_

When he drew back, her mind felt hollow. Like she’d forgotten something. She looked around, frantic, trying to remember what she’d forgotten.

The creature before her gave a laugh that seemed to creep from her nightmares, and she tried to move away from him, but he held her there, and moved to try to kiss her again.

“10!”

No. She didn’t want this. She wanted -

“9!”

Her body wasn’t listening to her. She couldn’t move away.

“8!”

Something ripped the creature away from her and she started sinking to the floor, feeling anxiety crawling over her, making her itchy and afraid. What was she forgetting? Who was she forgetting?

“7!”

“Sarah? Precious?”

She lifted her gaze, finding brilliant blue in front of her.

“6!”

Arms went around her, and she was being picked up off the floor. She could hear harsh whispers near her.

“5!”

“Jareth, he bespelled her, get her out of here, now!” That was a woman’s voice, the last time she’d heard it, it had been petulant and annoyed.

“4!”

Jareth. She’d called that name. 

“3!”

Beautiful brilliant blue eyes searched hers and she looked into them, smelling ozone swelling around her.

“2!”

Jareth, her lover, she realized, and tears started to pierce her eyes.

“1!”

Lips caught hers and she held onto the man holding her together as tight as she could.

Silence. Blissful silence.

She felt her chest hitch, as the kiss relaxed, and she was lowered to the ground.

The first thing she noticed was they were in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. Jareth had his arms around her waist, still holding her upright. The throne room was empty, save for them. Feathers littered the floor, and outside the window, she saw explosions of light start to go up.

She jumped, her nerves shot. A hand trailed slowly over her waist, as if to soothe her. Fear and panic, and a confusing tangle of emotions ripped her apart and she felt like she was going to shake apart.

“Sarah?”

Her skin felt like she had ants crawling on it or under it, wherever her clothing was touching. Even the hair on her face was too much. Never mind the weight of the arm holding her upright. She curled her hands into the sleeves, the scratch of the tulle too much, even.

“ _Sarah?!_ ”

“Something’s wrong. Something -”

She pressed her face against his neck, trying to use the spicy scent of him, and the scent of ozone around them, to ground here. She didn’t want to think about whatever else was going on.

“What happened?”

The dance with Titian. Him getting angry because she wouldn’t look him in the eye. Him pulling her from the other dancers, and forcing that kiss on her. The smell of rotting fruit.

Her mentally screaming for Jareth, and then everything seeming to fall apart in her mind.

“He tried to spellbind me. But this isn’t like when you…” She shook her head, trying to clear it, but the action caused more pain. “This isn’t like the peach dream. Jareth, what’s happening?”

He swore, and she felt him scoop her up. She couldn’t stand the feeling of anything touching her, even him, right then. But she didn’t want him to release her, either. She was scared, and though the physical sensations were agony, emotionally, she needed him.

“Titian put a charm on you.”

She was glad Jareth knew what the fuck was going on, because right then, everything felt like scratches and pops on a record. Jarring and uncomfortable. She clung to him, not knowing what else to do. If it was magic, did that mean Jareth could fix it?

She tucked her face against him, trying to find the words to explain everything she was feeling, right then. The feeling of things on her skin was growing unbearable. The sensitivity was too much. She squirmed in his arms, shaking biting back whimpers of discomfort.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Just breathe, darling. I’ll take care of you.” 

The king was muttering under his breath, words she couldn’t understand, and then, they reached a large set of double doors, they opened like they’d been kicked. The doors hit the walls as they walked through, and slammed shut behind them. The sounds did nothing to help her nerves, but she suspected that Jareth’s temper was on edge.

“It hurts, Jareth,” she whimpered, clinging to him.

The world was spinning by the time he set her down on a feather soft bed. She arched away from it, even that too much. Shaking her head, she struggled, trying to leave the bed.

No, no. It hurts.

Jareth’s face appeared in her vision, and she stared up at him, the scratching sensation that covered her easing as the scent of ozone around them swelled. It felt like nothing at all was touching her. She saw his fingers brush over her lips, but she couldn’t feel the comfort of the touch.

“I know, darling,” he said, and she saw his jaw tighten.

He took her hand, and she watched him pull the glove from her, but she couldn’t feel the scrape of it against her skin. Relief made her almost cry and her head fell back to the bed. A different sort of itch was starting to bother her, this one sexual, causing heat to build inside of her. She reached to touch herself, and Jareth’s hand caught hers and pinned her wrist to the bed. He then pulled off her other glove, and didn’t hesitate to pin that hand above her head with the other.

Looking up, she found his hands weren’t holding her own down. In fact, she couldn’t see anything pinning her.

She felt him lift her, but there was no physical touch to her skin, just a faint pressure easing her back off the mattress. She realized he was trying to remove her dress, and she lifted, so he could unlace the back, and then he drew it down her. Whatever barrier he’d placed between her skin and fabric, she didn’t even feel the whisper of silk on her skin. She still almost sobbed in relief when the clothing was off of her.

He worked fast, as if he was working with a limited timetable, but he managed to get her undressed. There was worry more than anything else in his eyes, and she remembered his comment at Christmas, about how others were hurt when she was harmed. Tears wound down her face, and it felt like they burned a trail over her face. She gave a hysterical laugh, twisting against the magic holding her pinned.

“Jareth,” she half-sobbed, and he shifted over her, his face drifting in front of hers.

“Until the worst of this wears off, this is all I can do. If I leave you to your own devices, you’ll just hurt yourself worse.” His fingers brushed her cheeks, wiping the tears away. She whimpered, leaning into the touch, needing that comfort more than she could express.

“What’s happening to me,” she whimpered. She realized, now, that her legs were pinned the same as her arms, holding her gently in place so she couldn’t move.

“A lust charm, combined with the spellbinding.” His voice was cold and unforgiving. “But Titian doesn’t have the experience with humans that I have. Whatever he used isn’t intended for a mortal, and I don’t know what he did use. He was probably trying to wrap it around you the whole time he was dancing with you.”

“He was angry I wouldn’t look him in the eyes.”

Jareth closed his eyes, and she thought there was pain on his face. “Clever. But it made this harder on you. I’m sorry, precious.”

She shook her head. “Not your fault.”

“It was my responsibility to protect you, you trusted me to keep you safe from my kind’s capricious nature.”

She shook her head again, still tangled up with everything that had happened. “He was mad at me, not you.”

An angry scream rang out around them, from an unfamiliar voice. “I wish the goblins would take you away, _right now!_ ”

Nausea gripped her and she stared at Jareth, seeing his clothing shift from the romantic frock coat to the dark armor of the Goblin King. “Please don’t leave me,” she whispered, trembling.

He looked at her, his expression sick. He closed his eyes hard, pain twisting it. “I have to, darling. I’ll return as soon as I’m able.”

A sheet drifted down over her, something to keep her warm, but she felt too hot as it was. She saw Jareth snap his fingers, and then he was gone. In the same moment, a cracking sound caught her attention and she saw Pan there, with a shallow basin and a soft cloth in hand.

The goblin started tending her, cleaning the colors off her skin, pulling the pins from her hair until the wild curls it had fashioned fanned out around her. She wasn’t certain how the goblin managed to clean her face without causing agony, but she couldn’t feel the faintest touch.

She wasn’t certain how long she lay there, crying, as the goblin worked. She was so tangled up with the pain and the sexual heat that she didn’t hear when it left. She stared out the window as the lighting outside changed, brightening towards dawn. It was the closest she had to an idea of the change of time while Jareth was gone.

Eventually, she became aware of the gentle caress of fingers on her cheek. It was a relief that she couldn’t put words to, that feeling. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to turn her head, finding Jareth sitting on the bed beside her. Her throat hurt, and her body ached in ways she didn’t know that she could. The physical agony had died down to discomfort, but the throbbing between her legs still kept her awake.

“How long…?”

“Not long,” he answered. “The wisher wasn’t interested in being tied to a child, so I took it, and they took their petty little dreams. I was back before Pan had finished with your makeup.”

She could see his own upset, pain and anger that wasn’t aimed at her. That look caused emotions to choke her, and she closed her eyes, biting her lower lip. She couldn’t even feel her teeth, though she could feel the pull of them. She didn’t want to look too hard at the relief of him being there when she came to. She took a shaking breath, feeling that her body was still quivering.

“I apologize.”

She shook her head, looking towards him. “Don’t, Jareth. You didn’t do this to me.”

His touch moved to her hair, and she could feel him combing his fingers through the curls. “He gave you the equivalent of a sexual stimulant that would be fine for my kind. Combining that with the spellbinding he tried I think your physiology took that spell and ramped every nerve ending into overdrive. I could break the spellbinding, because he was still trying to catch you in it when I found you. Without knowing exactly what charm he used, all I can do is take care of you to get you through it.”

She was more aware, now, and felt less like a basket case, so she hoped she was coming out of this, just fine. “Skin doesn’t feel like it’s trying to crawl off of my body anymore, so that’s something, I guess.”

“When I realized what he must have done, I put a barrier around you so nothing could touch you.”

She shrugged, heaving a breath. “I didn’t cry when Pan was cleaning off the makeup, and your touch didn’t set me off, so.” She looked up at him, and he gave her a smile.

Her eyes drifted around the room she was in. Heavy, dark furniture, massive bed. She could see a balcony from the window. His spicy scent surrounded her and she heaved a sigh, closing her eyes. His room, she decided, and she tried to shift, but the magic binding her hands to the bed was still holding her.

When she turned her gaze to him, she saw his frock coat gaping open, the cravat he’d worn untied, hanging loose around his neck. His boots were off, and so were his gloves.

“I’m glad I warned you, before you went to dance with him. I think everyone at that party heard you, regardless of if you used your voice. A few of them may be nursing psychic migraines for the next few days. Titian included.”

“I knew he was trying something. It smelled like rotting fruit. Just a little too sweet to be pleasant?” She looked towards him. “That’s when I panicked. By the time the countdown started, I...couldn’t remember. Anything.”

A shudder worked through her, tears falling down her face, again. That fast. His magic had taken her that damn fast, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

He was silent, his expression very dark for a moment, but his touch was tender and gentle.

“Your magic smells different than his,” she said, taking a steadying breath. She was safe. He’d saved her. “Clean and metallic. Like air before a lightning strike? I smelled that, and things started coming back.”

“Small blessings,” he said, his words quiet. “I’m glad I reached you in time. How do you feel, now?”

She was trying hard to not think about that. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a flush on her face as she considered her current condition.

“Twitchy and paranoid. Scared. But so hot and needy it's making me crazy.”

Fingers trailed over her ear, the brush of them soft. She felt him removing her earring, and she watched as he set one, and then the other aside.

“I didn’t think he’d be so foolish to use a spell like this on a guest. Georgine told me that he’d been insulted on her behalf, but neither of us realized that he would step over a line like this. When you’re safely home, I intend to have words with him regarding his mistreatment of you.”

She remembered a flash, of a woman telling Jareth to get her out of there. She looked up at him in surprise.

“She told you he bespelled me. Told you to get me away.”

“Whatever he was twisting around you would have taken you at midnight. If that had happened, I admit, I would be infinitely more furious than I already am. She also knows that as the Queen, it will reflect badly upon her that a guest was harmed while under her care. Final punishment will fall to her.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” she murmured, taking an unsteady breath. “I was having a great time before that bastard did that.”

He gave her a smile, then reached under her neck. She felt him unclasp the necklace, and the drag of it as it pulled away. “You are not the one who needs to apologize, darling. Trust that this will never happen again - I’ll make certain of that.”

She saw the swirl of darkness in his eyes, and wanted to reach out, to touch him, but her hands were still trapped against the bed. “Are you going to let me up?”

He set the necklace beside the earrings with care, not looking at her.

“No.”

She blinked, surprised by that answer, but when he looked towards her, there was something in his eyes besides that darkness and it caused the molten feeling between her legs to get hotter. “What?”

“I told you that I’d take care of you, and I intend to.”

As she watched, he peeled off the lovely frock coat. Then, his fingers opened the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt, then the ones down the front. Her heart skipped several beats as he slipped his shirt off, next, and her eyes drank in the sight of him.

He was still dressed from the waist down, and she felt a twinge of relief at that. She wasn’t certain that her heart could take seeing Jareth in his full, unclothed glory, right then. She might just faint away dead from a heart attack.

When he leaned over her, she recognized the look in his eyes from when he’d held her pinned to her bed in her parent’s house. Her throat closed and she stared up at him through wide eyes. He didn’t move, just meeting her gaze, waiting. Waiting for her to either fight him or submit to whatever he intended to do. She could feel the heat of him above her, and her eyes raked over him.

Her breath stuttered out of her as she met his gaze again, seeing patience and understanding in them. Like he understood that right now she was mentally a mess. She swallowed hard, closing her eyes to block the view of him out and thought for a long moment.

“Please, take care of me,” she whispered, lifting her face to him.

He captured her lips with his own and she felt him. That kiss made her feel like she’d caught fire, like he’d burned through her. The only parts of them that touched were their lips, right then, his sliding smooth and hot against hers, his tongue slipping between them and sliding against her own. She could feel his hunger, the passion and desire that he felt, and a blissful sigh escaped her.

When his skin came to rest against her own, she realized the barrier he’d set around her was gone. The feeling of him was just on the edge of being too much for her to handle, still and she gasped against his lips, not sure if she wanted to pull away from him or push closer.

His kiss stopped, and he lifted his face, meeting her gaze, as if measuring something.

“Jareth, please,” she whispered, needing that kiss again, to distract her from the over sensitive feeling of her skin.

“Yes,” he promised. His lips brushed hers, again, and then they slid over her chin and along her jaw. From there, they brushed along her neck, parting and she felt the sharp graze of his teeth on her skin. She arched against him, the pain there welcome, and she closed her eyes, a tremor racing down her spine.

He spent a long moment there, his lips and teeth pulling and scraping on her skin, as he pulled a love bite on her skin, before he moved further, leaving more marks on her skin. He wasn’t pushing her hard, almost as if his concern for her was forcing him to hold himself back.

Taking care of her, he’d called it. Like he was providing her with aftercare, taking care of her after she’d fallen ill. It was still getting her hot enough that she was ready to strangle him.

She watched, powerless as he swept kisses down her, brushing over the peaks of her breasts before his hand cradled it, and his lips wrapped over her, tugging her flesh with skill that had her arching against his mouth. Her fingers curled into the sheets and she squirmed, the heat fogging her brain. She felt him pull away for a moment, before the other breast received the same treatment, ending when he kissed a path to the center of her chest, his lips lingering over her pounding heart.

She forced her eyes open, staring down at him. She ached to touch him, but he’d made plain that he wouldn’t let her until he’d taken care of her.

His lips ghosted down over her stomach, next, parting and leaving wet kisses on her skin as he sunk further down her body until he was between her thighs. His eyes met hers as he looked up the length of her body, and she saw hunger and that dark something swimming in his eyes. She stared at him through wide eyes, trying to breathe, not wanting to pull her eyes from his.

“Please,” she begged, again, feeling his breath rush against her soaked folds, and she watched as his nose flared, as if he was breathing in the scent of her. A flush burned on her face, and she watched as his lips parted. When his tongue ran against her, she gave a weak, desperate groan, trying to lift her hips towards him. His hands curled under her hips, holding her still, even as she bucked against his mouth.

Each stroke of his tongue sank deeper into her, and he gave a sound that stirred her in ways she didn’t think she could.

Hunger and fear in that deep growl, like he’d been given a tasty treat that he shouldn’t be allowed. His mouth fit against her and she felt like he was trying to kiss her like he’d kissed her mouth, before, his tongue pressing deep, piercing her. She felt her body growing tighter, like she was on the edge of release, but each stroke of his tongue just pushed her higher still.

Every stroke of his tongue ended at the tip of her clit, and she half-sobbed her desperation to him, whimpering from the pleasure that seemed to just keep rising, but not give her the relief she sought.

When she finally came, it was hard and she felt her body go rigid from the pleasure. She probably screamed, but she was so focused, she wasn’t certain. When her body stopped twitching, she noticed the tension building inside of her again almost immediately, though Jareth had ceased devouring her. Fear twisted through her and she fought the restraints.

“Jareth,” she half-sobbed, scared and hating that her body was being like this. This hunger just consumed her, not giving her the relief she’d sought, just making her feel like she needed more.

What the fuck would have happened to her, if Jareth hadn’t gotten her out of there, so quickly?

“Shh, darling. I’ve got you.” The words were a promise, and the only ones he said before he went right back to trying to bring her through this.

She felt the fullness of his fingers slip inside of her, spreading her, as his tongue continued to taste her. She fell back against the bed under the onslaught of sensations, but didn’t dare ask him to stop. 

By the time her body didn’t fill with tension after coming, she’d lost count of how many times she had. The ants under the skin feeling had died down, anxiety and fear dying as the first real relief of the evening settled over her, making her body relax. She lay there, after, gasping and weak. Her face was wet from tears, throat raw from crying out after each release. Her legs quivered as Jareth shifted from between them.

He reached up, and she felt the magic holding her wrists release, and then her ankles were freed a moment later. She quaked, unable to move or speak, just laying there and staring at the canopy over his bed, her mind an utter mess. She felt exhausted, she noted, and she bit her lower lip hard.

She felt Jareth touch her arms, and he guided them back to her sides.

“Jareth,” she managed to whisper, as he settled beside her. One of his hands found the muscles around her shoulders, and a pained moan left her as he started working the soreness from them.

“Yes, precious?”

She shivered, feeling a chill settling over her. “Can I stay here, tonight?”

There was a pause in the caress of his hands, and his face drifted into her vision. She could see the pleasure in his eyes as he looked at her. Something about her request had pleased him. She swallowed hard, and waited for him to answer her. He resumed working on the sore muscles of her shoulders.

“I wouldn’t send you home until I was certain you were well, darling.”

She nodded, closing her eyes, and drifting on the pleasure he’d given her, and the feel of his hands caressing her. “Thank you.”

He gave a quiet chuckle, shifting her onto her stomach, and his arms started working the sore muscles of her back and hips. “Do you want your t-shirt?”

She considered it for a long moment, then shook her head. She wasn’t certain what the point of that was, anymore. Jareth had seen and touched literally everything, at this point.

His fingers found a particularly sore place on her shoulders and she moaned, then she shifted so she could look at him, feeling nerves for a different reason. “Are you sure you want me?”

Aren’t I too much trouble? Getting caught up by something like this, when she was supposed to shield him, and he ended up saving her, instead.

She searched his eyes, and he stroked her cheek with a gentle hand. “I said I did.”

Those words soothed the confused tangle of feelings in her chest, and after a moment, she nodded her head, looking up at him. “Happy new years, Jareth.”

His lips curved into a smile, and his fingers brushed over her cheek again, almost unspeakably gentle. Then, he leaned down and gave her a very soft kiss on her lips. “Happy new years, Sarah.”


	11. Ex-Boyfriends and Stolen Papers

Sarah spent New Years day in Jareth’s bed, recovering from the charm at his insistence. She found waking there to be a wonderful thing, even when he wasn’t in the bed with her. There was a cup of coffee on the table beside her, waiting, and a light breakfast of fresh peaches. Her lips twisted in amused annoyance, but she ate the light repast, and climbed out of bed, wrapping the flat sheet around herself.

He spent the afternoon in his office, working, and she found him there, hunched over paperwork. She wandered the shelves of his expansive library until she found a book that had a subject of interest and curled up on his couch. She let him work, but took enjoyment in the silent company. She found being able to do this with him was a vast improvement on sitting alone in her apartment.

She remembered the startled gasp when he’d seen her curled up on his couch, wearing only the sheet from his own bed. She’d looked at him, and saw the color of his eyes had been swallowed by his pupils. He forgot his work, then. She thought he’d ravish her on the spot, but instead, he insisted that wasn’t warm enough to be wandering the castle, and bundled her up in a soft wool dressing robe.

He returned her home that evening, still wearing the robe. While she prepared to defend her paper, Jareth visited daily, though often not for long. She’d wake to coffee in the pot, and when it was time to go to bed, he’d be waiting. He’d spend a few minutes every evening with her, even if he couldn’t spend the night.

It scared her that this was the healthiest relationship she’d ever been in. He seemed to spend time with her for the simple enjoyment of it, as opposed to anything he might get from her. She found she felt the same, and looked forward to those stolen moments she had with him. 

He was still an insufferable bully, sometimes. He would put food in front of her or bundle her to take her to dinner if he thought she hadn’t eaten recently enough. If he thought she looked tired, he’d tuck them in on the couch and make sure she took a nap, especially when he thought she was working too hard.

He distracted her, but he didn’t disrupt the flow of her work when she was focused. He fit so seamlessly into her life she was starting to be afraid that it would fall apart when he didn’t want to be a part of it any longer.

Today, she sat in her professor’s office, grading papers and listening with half an ear as other students were discussing their own dissertations with him. As she flipped through the tests in front of her, a familiar voice broke through her focus, and she saw one of her exes standing there, looking smug as he spoke with their professor.

Tommy was a good looking man, and they’d dated for less than a month before she realized he was only with her to try to distract her from her work. The ‘relationship’ ended in disaster. He’d been furious that she’d “strung him along” for a full month, and “wasn’t serious about him”. She’d reminded him that she’d told him in advance that he wouldn’t have all of her attention. He was from a wealthy family, however, and was used to getting his way. He’d been looking for a pretty trophy wife. Someone who would stay home and raise his children, clean up his messes, and always look poised and perfect. A mother with wife duties, she’d called it when she’d dumped him.

He’d been attempting to use verbal barbs against him ever since, not understanding that she’d been called worse by better people. It was something she’d come to find with most of her previous boyfriends. They’d tried to hurt her for not bending to them how she’d refused to bend to others.

“Butterfly effect theory is bullshit and here’s why?”

What? She felt the grip on her pen slip and the plastic clattered to the desk.

“Yeah, I thought I’d try something a little different. I did the work, and it turned out to be a pretty good paper.”

“You might reconsider the title.”

“It’s a working title.”

It was a working title. Her working title. She felt her blood start to boil as she focused on the thick document in her professor’s hands and she turned, opening her messenger bag. A hefty ream of blank pages sat there, with some blank floppy disks. Nothing had her marks for edits, the disks didn’t have her writing telling her which draft they were. She looked back and saw Tommy looking at her, a nasty smile on his face.

Her paper. He stole her paper.

She stood on shaking legs, walking to the professor and taking the document from him, looking at the cover page. Tommy’s name stood out beneath her title. Her professor looked stunned at her boldness, lifting a brow as if to ask what she was doing. She could see nothing but red as she slammed the document down.

“I should rip your _fucking_ heart out just to see if you have one, you fucking thief! You stole my work!”

“Language, Williams!” The professor started, then looked back at Tommy, frowning. “Is this true?”

“I don’t know what Williams is talking about, professor. I mean, she’s crazy if she thinks I’d ever steal her paper. Maybe our themes were similar? But isn’t the point to show our own work and argue our own idea? Maybe she’s just pissed because she hadn’t gotten her work done with the due date looming in, even with all the pride and conceit she carries around in that messenger bag?”

Sarah seriously considered grabbing her pen and stabbing him in the chest with it. She could almost see the shock on their faces, the blood gushing around the red pen.

A knock at the door drew their attention, and she saw Jareth leaning against the frame. His eyes fixed on her face and he straightened.

Tommy laughed, a brash, abrasive sound. “Wow, Williams. Managed to wrap another idiot around your little finger? Amazed he doesn’t have frostbite.”

As Jareth passed Tommy, he leaned over to her current lover. “Careful, she’s so cold she’ll give you blue balls.”

Jareth paused, looking at him, and Sarah thought she saw his glamor flicker for just a moment. He didn’t say anything at the other man, stepping around him as if there was a particularly nasty spill on the floor and he was trying to avoid getting any of it on him. He saw her rumpled bag and the blank pages within. He lifted the bag, himself, flipping through it.

She just stood there, trembling, trying to hold in tears of rage. She knew that Jareth could see that her dissertation was gone. She knew he’d understand the rage swirling inside of her. Her jaw was starting to cramp from how tight she’d clenched it. Her teeth protested under the pressure. Still, she managed to get some words out.

“I didn’t expect you here so early.” She hadn’t expected him there, at all. Usually, he didn’t pop into public places to visit her. She wondered if she’d accidentally called out to him in her upset.

“I got done with work early. I thought I’d see if you wanted a lift home.” He shouldered her messenger bag, and put his arm around her waist, stroking a hand down her back to comfort her. His eyes fell on the paper that Tommy was holding, and he straightened, his eyes going narrow. He took the hefty document from Tommy’s hand, ignoring the way the other man tried to snatch it back. Jareth looked at the cover, and as Sarah watched, he flipped through it briskly. Then, he set it down with a dull thud. 

“Do you wish to pursue this, Sarah?” His voice was low, a quiet threat that told her she didn’t mean with legal means. Tommy didn’t understand that, and bristled, glaring at Jareth.

“As if the professor would take the word of her boyfriend over a student.”

The professor had no idea what sort of pissing contest was going on between the two. Still, he shook himself and looked at Sarah. “If you can’t provide proof that the original paper was yours, I’m going to accept this.” His eyes moved towards Tommy, a cross expression on his face. “I will factor this into the final grade, however. Don’t think I don’t know that you dated Miss Williams for a few weeks. You look no better in this.”

Sarah grabbed her grading pen and lunged for Tommy, but Jareth caught her around the waist.

“Lucky for you, I suppose, that your professor is so...generous.”

Something about Jareth’s voice made her go very still. She wondered what Jareth was doing, because she could smell the scent of ozone thick in the air around her and when she looked up at her lover’s face, she could see a particularly unpleasant smile there. His hand slid up her back in a gentle caress, and his lips brushed her hairline.

“Come along, precious. You look like you could use a drink. We’ll worry about everything else after that.”

Then, he guided her from the classroom. He didn’t take her to her apartment. As they walked through the doors, she found them in the Labyrinth and her control finally gave out. Her knees buckled, and she clung to Jareth as he went to the ground with her, stroking a soothing hand over her hair.

“That fucking _douchebag! Two years of work! MY FUCKING WORK!_ ” She pressed her face against his chest, as angry sobs shook her. Her hands curled in the jacket he was wearing, tears soaking the fabric. She hiccoughed against him, hands aching. Jareth just held and rocked her, stroking her hair until she started to hyperventilate from her sobs.

“Drink.” He pushed a flask into her hand. She obeyed because she heard the sharpness of his voice, opening it and pouring whatever burning liquid was in the flask down her throat. She passed it back to him when it was half-empty and she felt the alcohol start soothing her nerves. He accepted it back and capped it, slipping it back into his jacket. “You needn’t worry about him profiting from your pain. He will not get what he had hoped out of the theft.”

She blinked, slowly straightening so she could look him in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

He leaned back against the wall, that unpleasant smile on his face, again. “Well, first I rifled through his rather empty head. He’d erased the disks you’d kept your work saved on, so you’ll have to start over from scratch. I suppose it’s fortunate for you to have a lover like me, who can give you unlimited time to ensure you’re finished on time.”

“What?” She stared at him, dumbstruck.

The smirk he gave her made the blood drain out of her head. “The bastard tried to benefit from your hard work and sabotage you in the same moment. He doesn’t understand that you have the one thing he doesn’t. Unlimited time. You’d have to do the majority of the work from here, and do the final edits in your own realm. Neither of those things will cost you any time, there. I did some checking around the library you work in. Around midnight, there’s a stutter in time.”

Slowly, she began to realize what he was saying, what he was offering to her. “Jareth -”

His smile grew wider when he knew she understood what he was saying and he silenced her with a quick kiss. “In that brief moment I had my hands on the stolen paper, I changed every word in it after the first page. It’s illegible nonsense and gibberish after the title page. I couldn’t change the author back to the rightful one, since your professor had already looked at that page. But I ensured he wouldn’t benefit from your misery. Honestly, precious, did you actually date that bastard?”

“It was an idiot decision that’s still biting me in the ass,” she managed, as she stared at him, her heart twisting uncomfortably in her chest. “You did that? Why?”

He gave a satisfied little smile, tapping her nose with a fingertip. “Why not? He hurt you, so I hurt him in kind.”

A slow smile curved her lips and she closed her eyes, letting her forehead find his chest. “I’m glad I’m in better hands, now. Thank you, Jareth.”

“Alright, precious.” She could hear the grin in his voice and lifted her head to look at him. “Past mistakes aside, let’s get you set up in my study and see what we can get done. Tonight, we’ll head to your library and take advantage of the stutter, so you can find the materials you need for research. You’re alright staying here for awhile?”

“How long do I have?” She wondered, rubbing the cramps out of her hands.

“As long as you need to, in order to finish a new paper.”

Her heart gave another agonizing twist in her chest. “Where have you been the last eighteen years of my life?”

He grinned at her, pleased with her question. He pulled her in for a quick, but dizzying kiss, then helped her to her feet. “Right here, darling. But that’s the past. Let’s worry about today’s problem, yes?”

“Okay,” she laughed, nodding her head.

He took her to his study, to the massive desk she’d seen him hunched over to work, and he started working with her, spitballing ideas back and forth until she settled on one. For all he was good at being a wicked tease and phenomenal in bed, when he put his mind to work, Sarah found that the Goblin King was on a level that reminded her of herself. She thought that should trouble her more than it did.

That evening, they took advantage of the thing he called a ‘stutter’ in the library on campus - something he admitted most libraries had due to the amount of dreams they had inside of them. She’d pulled references and noted titles and authors, and when her head was spinning, and she was worried she’d doze off, Jareth kept right on pulling down references and making notes for her in that clear, concise hand of his. She had almost fallen asleep at the table they were working at when he scooped her up and then they were in his room in his castle.

“Jareth?” she mumbled, half asleep. She wasn’t certain how long they’d been there, but it felt like hours.

He set her on his bed, leaning over her and he gave her a thorough kiss before drawing back. “Sleep, darling. I’ll set my goblins to work. I’ve a few that should be able to procure the required materials for you.”

She was too tired to argue with him, and her head still ached from the rage crying she’d done. “How the hell do you have so much energy, your majesty?”

He chuckled, a smile curving his lips as he leaned over her. His fingers brushed against her forehead with a gentle touch. “Darling, someone insulted my lover today and did grave harm to her. I’ll have all the energy you need me to have in order to ensure that the miscreant in question is handled appropriately.”

“You already wrecked what he tried to steal. He’ll either have to start from scratch like me, or he’ll have to hand in whatever he’d been writing on his own. Don’t ever underestimate how much that means to me.”

“I’ll make a deal with you, then. I’ll get my goblins started on getting together what you need, and then come to bed if that’s your wish.” When he leaned in close, she could feel his lips brush her ear, and his words sent her libido screaming in want for him. “Maybe we could have a replay of New Years, just for fun?”

She felt her face turn crimson and she stared up at him through wide-eyes, remembering all too well everything he’d done during that event. They hadn’t had an opportunity since then to do anything else, and she was getting itchy, again. Then, he smiled as if he’d said nothing at all and got to his feet. Still, in his brilliant blue eyes was a promise that made her throat go dry. She was exhausted and she knew it, but if he wanted to do that, again, she’d be glad to miss a few more hours of sleep.

She thought that, but her body thought otherwise. He’d barely been gone for a minute when her exhaustion knocked her flat. The next morning, she woke to find him curled up at her back, snuggled tight. His arm was thrown around her waist, one of his legs curled over hers, as well. She could remember him crawling into bed with her the night before, the warmth of him pressed against her. But he hadn’t attempted to wake or seduce her, had just tucked in and wracked out.

She supposed that told her how exhausted he must have been, too.

A smile curved her lips and she shifted, rolling over to look at him. He looked tired, again, she noted. She sighed, and lifted her hands to his hair, working her fingers through his tresses, watching as his face relaxed. A moment later, his eyes opened and he looked at her. He still looked exhausted. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said, shifting her fingers to massage his scalp.

He gave a quiet groan and his eyes closed again. “I stirred when you shifted. Regardless, that doesn’t mean you should stop - I’m rather enjoying what you’re doing with your time, at present.”

She grinned, shifting her fingers to his neck, and he gave another groan. She bit her lower lips, finding the tight muscles there. “Oh? Enjoying it enough that it’s payment for a cup of coffee?”

“Precious, I need never be repaid for coffee. Coffee in the morning is a simple joy in life.” Then, he gave a rough chuckle and his eyes opened. The expression on his face was amused, but there was that edge of sexy darkness in it that made her heart quicken. “And if you wish to repay me for other services rendered, we can discuss that later.”

She remembered two very specific favors, including New Years, and her face flushed red. Her fingers paused and she became very aware that they were both laying there, naked in his bed. She met his gaze with wide eyes. There was a satisfied look on his face at her reaction and she wondered if he was just teasing her, again.

“Are you messing with me?” She asked, and she felt the pout she made.

“Absolutely,” he said, the smile on his lips taking a wicked edge. “But not how you may think I’m messing with you.”

She felt his hand shift, and it drew a line up her back, curved over her shoulder and ran along her collarbone. She quivered in response, and she knew he felt it, because she saw the flash of his sharp teeth right before he sat up.

“Unfortunately for me, you need to concentrate, precious. Meet me in my study. I’ll procure your morning beverage, and you can ensure that you have the reading materials and supplies you require to do what you need to do.”

The reminder of her paper managed to squash her libido. She sat up, holding his sheets to her chest and gave him another pout. “I suppose this is another favor I’ll end up owing you for later?”

“Oh, absolutely,” he laughed, rolling out of bed.

She got out of the bed, and hesitated for a moment, then stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around his back, hugging him tight. She pressed her forehead against his shoulder, taking a deep breath. As soon as she’d touched him, he’d gone very still, and his hand lifted up, setting over her hand.

“Thank you.”

His hand squeezed her own, and he turned towards her, his hands cupping her face, and his lips brushed against hers. “There’s a change of clothing for you on the chair.”

“And if I get lost trying to find your study?”

Another laugh bubbled from him and he looked at her for a long moment. “You? Get lost? The woman who defeated my Labyrinth at the tender age of fifteen?” He looked at her, smirking, those beautiful eyes shining. “That would be impossible.”

Then, he released him and she watched him go. The tone he’d used, then was strange, curious. He seemed to be unable to even entertain the notion that she might get turned around trying to find his study. 

A bit of a smile curved her lips and she sighed.

She took advantage of his bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth, before she retrieved the dress he’d set aside for her. It wasn’t one of the fancy dresses she wore when he took her to parties, but she took a moment to appreciate that it was of fine make. The fabric was dark brown, a simple working dress, with long sleeves. It was wool, the same fine make as the dressing gown he’d put her in previously. She pulled it on over her head and pulled the laces that held the waist cinched. There were matching slippers with it, and she pulled them onto her feet, brushing her hands over herself before she ventured from his room with caution.

She considered testing to see if she could get lost, but she didn’t want to risk it. Regardless, it seemed Jareth was right, anyways. Either her instincts and memory were excellent, or she just couldn’t get lost, here. She wondered, for a long moment if he’d done something to prevent it, or if the Labyrinth simply recognized her from when she’d run it at fifteen.

She stepped into the study and found that Jareth had set up his own desk for her to work at. Piled on it were books that she’d referenced the previous evening at the school library. She hoped for a moment that they weren’t missing from there, but at the same time, if he was reordering time for her, she’d be able to get them back well before they’d be considered past due. She walked closer to the desk, finding her favorite black pen, with the end thoroughly bitten from a habit she’d never been able to shake. Refills for the pen were lined up, ready if she should need them. There were highlighters, red pens, lined and unlined paper, and a typewriter that reminded her of the one she’d learned to use in high school.

The door opened, and she turned, finding Jareth standing there with a tray. On it were two plates, two mugs and a carafe in the middle. She gave him a smile and looked back at the desk. With a steadying breath, she moved towards him.

“Looks like you thought of everything.”

“I’ve done research, myself, on occasion. Not in some time, but it’s usually better to be over prepared rather than under. Now, let’s get you settled in to work.” He set the tray down, and pulled out the chair for her. Once she sat down in it, Jareth set his hands on either arm and leaned over her. The position was familiar, now, from when he’d pinned her other times. She set her hand on one of his, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and relaxing.

His voice, when he spoke, was quiet, calm. He wasn’t trying to distract her, or seduce her, which was appreciated.

“Nothing will disturb you while you’re here, not even me, if you don’t want it. There’s a bed in the corner, if you feel the need to rest. I’ll make certain you get fed, and have sufficient coffee and water. So you can relax, and settle into the work. Should you need me, darling, you need only call.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, touched. Being given that much assurance meant more than she had the words to express, then. She took a deep breath and gave his hand a squeeze. “Alright.”

“In the meantime, I’ll deal with my own business elsewhere. Unless instructed to do so, no goblin will enter this room. If that door opens while you’re here, it’s me.” He lifted a hand, smoothing her hair and his lips pressed against her forehead, then brushed against her own, more a ghost of a kiss than he’d given her forehead.

She closed her eyes, sighing at the soft pressure.

“Thank you, Jareth,” she whispered, looking up into his eyes.

He smiled, and she wondered for a moment if she’d ever think anyone else’s smile was half as wonderful. She was definitely twisted up, she thought, and more so because he did thoughtful things like this.

“Eat your breakfast, and then get to work.”

Then, he straightened and gave her nose a tweak before he headed out the door.

She swallowed hard, and looked at the massive stack of books she needed to sort through. Still, Jareth’s words reminded her she needed to fuel herself, too. So she pulled her breakfast close and picked up a pen. Pulling the first book close, she started taking notes while she ate.

As she worked, her coffee seemed to refill itself whenever she wanted, and if she felt the slightest bit peckish, there was always food close at hand for her. She wasn’t certain how long she worked like that the first day, before Jareth walked through the door. She didn’t hear him come in, she was so focused. When he set his hand on her shoulder, it startled her a bit. She looked up at him through wide-eyes, noting only now that she had to use the toilet.

Jareth was giving her a patient sort of smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

He gave her a smile. “You’ve been working steadily for almost twelve hours, darling. You need to take a break.”

She opened her mouth to object, then stopped herself. She needed to use the toilet, anyways. She eyed him, anyways, lips twisting in amusement. “I’m taking this break whether I want to or not, aren’t I?”

“You’re human, Sarah. At least take the time to use the facilities and stretch your legs for a few minutes. Then you can get back to work.”

She looked up at him for a long moment, her heart warming. She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Okay.”

He took her hand, letting her use the grip on him to get to her feet. She felt the cramping in her shoulders and lower back from hunching over the desk. Her knees ached from having been bent for so long. She gave a groan, wincing.

“Ohh, didn’t notice those until I stood up,” she muttered, wincing.

His brow lifted as she straightened her back and tilted her head towards each shoulder to stretch her neck. There were several cracks around her neck and back as she did.

“I’m fairly certain you aren’t supposed to make noises like that, darling.”

She looked at him and gave him a grin. “As you pointed out, I’m human, Jareth. Sometimes, we sound like this.”

His lips twitched and she saw amusement in his eyes. Still, he gave her a nod of acceptance, then walked with her so she could use the toilet. She suspected that he’d come to find her just so he could have a few minutes of her time. On the way back to his study, he suggested she take a nap soon, and she promised she’d try to remember to do so. His smile was one of exasperation, but he didn’t argue with her.

The next few days went the same, until she started preempting his arrival by taking care of bathroom breaks herself, even giving herself the time to shower and brush her teeth. She learned to take care of herself as she worked so that he wouldn’t worry about her so much. 

She still ended up falling asleep at the desk, rather than napping in the bed in the room. More often than not, no matter where she ended up passing out for the night, she’d wake in the bed that was tucked back in a corner, out of sight.

More than once, while she worked, Jareth would let her sob out her frustrations regarding having to start over from scratch on his shoulders. But he made certain she didn’t give up on herself. When she’d get stuck, he’d toss ideas back and forth with her until she got her head past whatever hurdle was holding her back. She was grateful for that, it had her blazing through this paper faster than the first one.

When she set the last page of a finished second draft down in front of her, she wasn’t certain how long she’d actually been in the Underground, writing and rewriting her paper. It didn’t feel like it took her as long as the first one had. She swallowed hard, staring at it and leaned back in the chair. A quiet sigh escaped her as she stared at it with intense thoughts swirling around in her brain.

Jareth sat, reclined in a chair across from the desk, reading from one of her textbooks with interest. He must have noticed the end of her frantic typing, because he looked up towards her, a smile curving his lips.

The silence in the room scraped at her. She swallowed hard, lifting her eyes to look at him. “I think it’s mostly finished. I need to get on a computer and check a few things, but -”

He’d gotten out of the chair when she’d started speaking, and leaned down, giving her the best possible manner of reward. His lips sealed over hers, silencing her nervous words, and he gave her a very long, very thorough kiss. When he finally straightened, his eyes were shining. 

“Then let’s get you tucked in back at your place. If you need to use your library, we can use that glitch to ensure all edits are finished to your satisfaction.”

“How long have I been working on this?”

“Darling, you don’t want to know that.” He gave her a smile that was sharp teeth and pride. He was proud of her. Her heart warmed further at that realization. “For now, just relax in knowing that by your time, it will still be when I initially brought you here from the library.”

She closed her eyes, nodding her head and leaned towards him, setting her hand on the stack of papers beside her.

His fingers stroked through her hair, and he set his other hand beside hers on the stack of papers. Next thing she noticed, she was sitting at her kitchen table, in her apartment, and the clock on her wall was chiming twelve o’clock. She gave a sharp, surprised breath, looking around the room.

Jareth hadn’t come with her, she noticed, but the paper sat on her table beside her. And on her paper was a sphere of crystal. Reaching over, she picked it up, and found a hand written note on a yellow post-it on the top page in his crisp handwriting.

_Sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow._

She lifted the cool orb to her lips, setting a kiss against it, and then she set it back on her new paper, giving a quiet laugh. He was probably tired, too, she realized. After taking care of her for the last who knew how long. For a moment, she sat there, staring at the stack of pages. A soft smile curved her lips and she finally let herself accept something that she’d been struggling with since Christmas.

She was head over heels in love with him.


	12. Fevers and Meeting Parents

Sarah groaned her way out of her bed, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head that had nothing to do with alcohol, this time. She stumbled into the bathroom, brushing her hair and teeth and paused to take her temperature. A sigh escaped her and she did it, again.

99.8F blinked back at her from the thermometer’s digital display.

A fever. But it was low enough, maybe she could pretend she hadn’t seen it and Jareth wouldn’t notice. She knew she’d been working too hard to finish the second dissertation. This was always a risk when she worked too hard, her body couldn’t always keep up. Still, she was almost done.

Her presentation to defend it would be in a week. As soon as she’d started taking it back into the school, Tommy had tried to approach her about what she’d done to “his” paper. She’d looked at him and asked what he’d meant. After all, the teacher had already accepted it when she found out that he was a lousy thief.

When she’d mentioned that altercation to Jareth, he’d taken to escorting her to and from classes, and he’d provided her with a locking briefcase to store the new dissertation in. She had one of the keys taped inside her shoe. Jareth had the only other key in his desk in the Underground. There wasn’t a chance in hell that Tommy was getting his hands on this one.

Tommy’s face when he saw her pull out that second paper that was nearly finished had been priceless. It was totally worth the lack of sleep and overwork to get to see it.

She’d discussed the paper with her professor, made certain he saw her name on the cover, and explained that she’d been working on two simultaneously as a precaution. Her teacher had been pleased with that, and had notated the subject of her draft, accepting it as complete, though she still had a few more edits to do.

Jareth’s tinkering with the glitch in the library had allotted her more time than she could have dreamed and she was once again reminded of the benefits of being the lover of a fae king who had that particular talent. As he’d promised, he didn’t even try to get between her and her work, not seducing her or distracting her while she worked. He simply tried to make sure she was resting enough and taking care of herself.

Part of the reason she _wasn’t_ as overworked as she might have been was because he kept spiriting her away to his castle to insist that she take naps. The advantage to napping there was that she didn’t lose time in her own realm. She knew he’d been doing a shameful amount of heavy lifting the last month since her paper was initially stolen, and she suspected that for them it had been closer to a full year of time he’d been reordering to make sure she got that paper done on time.

She owed him so much, but he didn’t seem inclined to ask her for anything in return. If anything, he seemed glad that she didn’t demand that he set aside his own work to cater to her whims. And he seemed to have a lot of work, himself. She’d noticed when she initially stayed with him, working on her first drafts.

As much time as she’d spent in his study, she’d seen new correspondence that always seemed to pop up on his desk - invitations, letters, something that was so filled with temper that it seemed to want to burst open in front of her. No sooner than they had appeared, they’d vanish, no doubt into Jareth’s hands, wherever he had decided to work. In addition, there were several wished away children, which she realized that you could feel before it happened if you were in the Labyrinth, and was audible from everywhere in the castle. Seldom did it go past that, most of the children who were wished away weren’t going to be fought for. Some were the case as the one on New Years, just a difficult child - others were like from Christmas, where it was for the benefit of the child to be wished away.

Some of those nights, Jareth was furious when he’d come to bed and he’d lay awake for a long time, glaring into the darkness until she’d roll towards him and find his shoulder and snuggle against him. She realized fairly soon that the ones that made him angry were the ones wished to him for selfish reasons. As much as he knew that sometimes it was in the best interests of everyone involved, he also knew that sometimes that wasn’t the case, but he had to take the child, regardless.

One such case was a child that had been wished away to hurt the child’s mother. But the wisher was the only one who could run, so the wisher took their dreams and Jareth took the child.

Even after she’d returned, there were some nights she’d call on Jareth so she could stay with him at the castle, rather than in her own apartment. There were still as many where she could tell he needed a break where he’d come to her apartment just to get away from the Goblin City for a few hours. They’d both agreed that trying to sleep without the other was pointless, so they ended up spending most nights together. They’d grown too used to the extra warmth of another body in bed with them. What was the point in torturing themselves, when the other felt exactly the same way about the situation?

Tonight, however, was different. It was the celebration for Imbolc, and one of the few ways she had to repay Jareth for all the ways he’d helped her of late. He was going to pick her up that afternoon so she could get ready. Another one of those frivolous parties, though Jareth seemed to be looking forward to this one more than the last one. When she’d asked him why, he’d said he always looked forward to these events more when she would be on his arm. She knew he wasn’t telling her everything, but she’d figure that out later.

In the kitchen, she found a steaming pot of coffee waiting, just like every morning.

She’d known when she woke that at some point last night, Jareth got called away, but he made certain she’d have coffee in the morning. There was a plate that had tin foil over it and she found pancakes and bacon waiting for her. A smile curved her lips and she poured herself a cup, taking her breakfast to the table and digging in.

She hadn’t yet found a way to express how these acts of thoughtfulness meant to her. It also frustrated the hell out of her that she didn’t know how she could reciprocate them.

Speaking of frustration, she was also going crazy, because Jareth seemed to have set his designs to seduce her breathless since her work load had increased with the initial theft of her dissertation. She thought she shouldn’t be. After all, he was doing everything she needed and that included trying to not distract her from the work.

Between his kisses and the two times he’d touched her sexually, he’d woken up something inside of her that no other boyfriend had managed. Her damn sex drive. She was getting itchy, and it had been too long since New Years. If he kept this up, she was going to end up pinning _him_.

Which wasn’t something she thought she should admit to him.

He’d spurred her sexual awakening as a teenager, too. But it was different, this time and much more intimate. More frustrating, too, because he gave her plenty of those stirring kisses, but wasn’t doing any more than that. When she tried to encourage him, he’d just grin and remind her that she had work to do.

Well, she didn’t have any damn work to do tonight.

She shook those thoughts from her head, taking her breakfast dishes and washing them after she’d finished eating. When that was finished, she started straightening her apartment to distract herself from waiting for him.

She wasn’t certain how long she’d been cleaning when she finally noticed Jareth dozing on her couch. His sprawl there should look uncomfortable, and yet he managed to look effortless, regardless. She stopped moving, staring at him, wondering how long he’d been there. He hadn’t been when she’d folded the throw blanket and tucked it over the back of the couch, and yet, now he was. 

A glance at the clock found it was almost three p.m. and she’d been cleaning since she finished eating.

She walked towards him, settling on the floor next to him. He looked exhausted, and must have been if he’d decided to nap on her couch, rather than letting her know he was there. A smile curved her lips as she noticed his hair was pushed from his face to the point that it hung across one eye rather than both. She liked how he looked when he was a little disheveled, she noted, and brushed her fingers against his cheek.

One eye cracked and he looked at her, then he closed it again, a gusty sigh escaping him.

“I apologize. I meant to let you know I was here when I arrived, but I seem to have fallen asleep instead.”

“You say that like a nap is something that needs my forgiveness,” she teased, and combed her fingers through his hair, straightening it. “You work hard, Jareth. And if you’re tired enough to fall asleep rather than tease me, then you obviously need the rest.”

He nodded in agreement. “If we didn’t have a previous engagement this evening, I would say we both tuck into your bed and spend the day there. I know you’ve been working hard, too.”

She smiled, and leaned over, brushing her lips soft against his. One of his hands slipped into her hair as if to hold her there for a moment, not letting her pull away immediately. When he finally allowed her retreat, he was looking at her, his eyes narrowed. He was looking like the bully, now.

“You’re warmer than usual.”

She blinked, wondering how the fuck he’d noticed that, and she gave an awkward shrug. “I’m okay. Sometimes, I get a fever when I’ve been working too much.”

His eyes narrowed and he frowned at how she shrugged it off. The bully was definitely in them, now. “You promise?”

“I’ll even shake on it, your majesty,” she teased him, and then she got to her feet. “But we should go soon, so we’re fashionably late and not just regular late.”

“Mmm, but if you’re unwell, we could just avoid going altogether.” He shifted, rolling onto his stomach, his arm pillowing by his head. The smile that curved his lips was all mischief and he raised his eyebrows at her suggestively. She could see that he was teasing her, but she was still tempted.

“You’re incorrigible,” she said. “And what would we do if we did avoid going, Jareth? Curl up and take a nap on my couch?”

He groaned as if she’d just stroked him how he liked it with the suggestion. “Darling, never underestimate how much I enjoy a good nap.”

Still, he sat up and as she watched, he gave the clock a glare that would have withered it if it weren’t plastic and metal. When he looked towards her, his expression was similar. He was pouting as if he hadn’t been excited a few days ago to do this. So she shifted, sitting next to him on the couch. His arm lifted automatically, and she slid against his side, slipping her own around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

“We’ll go put in an appearance,” she said, her voice soft and warm. “Then we can come back here and have a proper rest, rather than just a nap?”

His arm around her shoulders tightened and she felt his lips against her hairline. Then, he heaved a sigh, his breath rustling her hair.

“Fair enough, darling. I admit I have a fetching gown for you, this evening, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing it on you.” She smiled, snuggling against his side, and looked up at his face, seeing him smiling down at her. “And on the bright side, we’re not going to be in Gwales, this time.”

A shiver crept up her spine when she remembered the last time they’d been there. The mean tempered charm Titian had placed on her, how Jareth had to rush her away from the ball. Then, she blushed, remembering how Jareth had helped ‘take care of her’ after, and she took a moment to pretend her fingernails were quite interesting.

She could feel him looking at her and knew the smirk he’d have on his lips would be showing his sharp teeth.

“You’re thinking about when I went down on you, aren’t you, precious,” he breathed against her ear and she swallowed hard, the blush on her face growing darker. When she looked up at him, it felt like he’d dumped a bucket of hormones over her head. He had that dark and sexy look in his eyes, and she swallowed hard. His hand lifted, finding some of her hair and he teased his fingers through it, using it to pull her closer. She watched as he kissed the hair he held, his gaze never leaving hers, burning into her.

Her brain shorted out for a moment before their prior engagement came to her mind again. She leaned kissing close to him, not looking away from his gaze. “Jareth, if we don’t get moving, we’re going to be late.”

He looked unrepentant as he grinned wider at her, and his hand slipped behind her neck, pulling in for a soft kiss. When he drew back again, they were in an unfamiliar dressing room. “Don’t think I’ll let you worry about us being late every time we’ve got places to be, darling. Being on time or even early to a fae party is absolutely shameful.”

“Always going for a dramatic entrance?” She asked, grinning as she hopped to her feet.

He remained silent for a moment, and she turned to look back at him. He was looking at her and waiting, again. A look around the room found there wasn’t a side room as there had been for Yule and New Years. She returned her gaze to him, lifting a brow in askance. He just continued to look up at her from under his brows, not speaking.

She realized after a moment, he was waiting for her to decide if she was comfortable changing for the part in the same room as him. Taking a steadying breath, she took a moment to consider that, herself.

“If you wish, I can make sure you have a changing room of your own. However, given that I’ve seen…” He paused and his lips quirked into that damn smirk, again, before his eyes raked over her. When they met hers again, she could see hunger in them. “Everything and you’ve seen almost everything, I think we can manage with this, if you choose.”

She flushed at the reminder that he’d seen her naked on several occasions, now and she looked towards him. He was still peering up at her from under his brows. He looked positively carnal when he looked at her like that. She felt her mouth go dry and she forced herself to nod in agreement. “As long as you don’t try to distract me, I think we can manage fine.”

He barked out a laugh and stood, moving towards her. His lips were curved into a smile that was somehow both charming and sinister and he tilted his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”

She couldn’t pull her gaze from his, and was almost overcome by the urge to grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him in for another kiss. Before she could do so, he waved his hand, gesturing past her. She turned and her breath caught in her chest.

The gown was lovely, silk chiffon that started soft pink and darkened to a dark almost black purple at the waist. The skirts were full, and it wrapped over the tops of her arms, leaving her shoulders bare. She moved towards it, not touching it, yet, and walked around it, in awe. She could feel Jareth’s eyes on her as she looked at it and when she lifted her gaze to his, she saw pure satisfaction in his eyes. She swallowed hard, moving back towards him and taking his hands in hers and giving him a generous kiss.

“Your taste is impeccable as ever. It’s beautiful.”

He smiled, leaning very closer to her, so she could feel the whisper of his breath against it. “I look forward to helping you out of it, later.”

She flushed dark red and bit her lower lip, feeling the tremble that went up her spine. Instead of arguing, she lifted her gaze to his, defiant. She could feel her own hunger scratching at her. Whatever he saw in her eyes must have surprised him, because that speculative interest brightened his eyes, and he pressed closer to her.

“Here you blame me for being distracting, and yet here you are, distracting me,” he said, his voice a low and quiet growl.

“You’re the one who keeps teasing me,” she pointed out, not reaching for him, because if she did, she’d start kissing him and it was very hard to stop. “And then you turn around and leave me hanging.”

“Hardly, darling. I already told you, remember? Before we went to visit your family.” His lips found her ear, brushing against it as he whispered to her. “I won’t fuck you unless you ask me to.”

Her heart stopped for a moment, the way he’d said those words made her knees grow weak. Her breath hitched in her chest and her hands caught the sleeves of his shirt, curling in them to keep herself upright or to keep him close to her. She couldn’t be certain which was her main reason for it.

His lips curved into a smirk against her ear and his arms went around her waist, pulling her against him so she wouldn’t fall. The proximity let her feel every single damn muscle and she curled her hands to keep from running them over him.

“ _Rude_ ,” she whispered, clinging to him until she felt steady enough that she didn’t think she’d faint dead away.

He drew back and gave her a smile that was all teeth.

“Am I distracting you, again, darling?”

She laughed, breathless, resting her forehead against his chest. After a steadying breath, she decided to get her own little bit of revenge and drew back, meeting his gaze. She stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head, keeping eye contact with him as she tossed it aside. Then, she unhooked her bra, letting it slide to the floor between them, lifting an eyebrow at him. She could see his pupils dilate, swallowing the color of his eyes until they looked dark and hungry. Instead of answering his question, she turned her back to him, setting about getting dressed. 

Pleased to find the dress a button up, she pulled it on over her head, brushing her fingers over the soft skirts. Glancing at Jareth, she found his eyes feasting on her, the look in them just as hungry as before. She took a moment to steady herself, and then lifted her hair from her back, pulling it over her shoulder.

“Would you help with the buttons?”

She watched as he stalked towards her and a shiver worked its way up her back. When he stopped, he barely touched her, his fingers starting at the bottom button and working their way up. He was slow about it, like he was teasing her and her breath grew faster with each second he stood at her back. Once it was fastened, he turned her towards him and the look he gave her burned through her. He lifted something, circling it around her neck, and she felt the weight of the necklace he set there. He didn’t look into her eyes while he fastened it, and then he straightened, and she looked down.

Dark Tahitian pearls circled her neck, closing at a platinum flower that was accented with diamonds. Her breath caught at the necklace, as it always did when he dressed her like a queen. She swallowed hard, lifting her gaze to him and found him looking at her, his eyes running over her. When his eyes lifted to hers, he seemed to fight with himself for a moment about something, and then he gave a smile, sighed, and stepped back.

“And you called me a tease,” he said, eyes shining. Then, he snapped his fingers and turned away from her, starting to get himself ready.

There was a cracking sound and Pan appeared again, starting to immediately fuss over her hair, pushing her to sit at the dressing table. Laying there, she saw pearl drop earrings, similar in style to the necklace laid out, waiting for her. They were lovely, but couldn’t hold her attention. She kept trying to steal glances at Jareth in the mirror while he played least in sight.

Probably teasing her, again.

Now that he’d pointed it out to her, he _had_ told her that he wouldn’t have sex with her until she asked it of him. But she hadn’t realized how serious he was about it. After all, he’d practically initiated sex with her, twice before -

No, that wasn’t quite true. Both times, he’d paused. He’d waited for her to ask for more. He’d given her the chance both times to put the brakes on what he was doing. He’d only moved forward when he knew that she wanted it, when she literally asked him to continue. At first, she’d thought that was just to be sure she knew what she was getting into. Now, it seemed more like he couldn’t, because he said he wouldn’t.

That was both a turn on and singularly terrifying, because it meant she’d literally have to ask him. Given his wording, she had a sneaking suspicion that what she had to do was quite literal. He wouldn’t go any further than she gave her permission to. Her cheeks heated and she used her hand to fan herself a bit, mortified and really aroused by the idea.

Pan noticed her flush and frowned at her, patting her cheek. Then, her goblin attendant frowned deeper. “Is Lady sick?”

Silence in the room behind her and she swallowed hard. She shook her head, feeling the sharp eyes of the Goblin King on her. “No, no. I’m not sick, Pan. I’m just tired. I run warm when I’m tired.”

More ominous silence followed her words and she took a deep breath, not daring to look back at Jareth. Pan was looking past her now, and whatever the goblin saw behind her worried it. “If lady sure -”

“I’m sure, Pan,” she said, smiling. It was just the low grade fever from that morning, that was all. She wasn’t sick, so it was fine. She’d keep telling herself that until everyone else believed it, too.

The goblin gave a slow nod, though she suspected it wasn’t aimed at her, and got to work on her makeup. The look was more neutral, this time. A simple smokey look around her eyes, a sweet shimmer for highlights. She was still given the sharp contour to her cheeks, and then a bold, dark red lip. Now, she tried to avoid meeting Jareth’s gaze in the mirror. When Pan had finished and left, she lifted the earrings, appreciating the simpler look and hair from the previous ones. She slipped the earrings in place, and once they were settled, she looked at the mirror again and almost jolted, finding Jareth standing there behind her.

Damn, he cut a fine figure.

He wore a dark gray vest and his shirt was brilliant white. Over, he wore a jacket that was a shade darker than the vest, with a soft pink square in the pocket. There were grey streaks and glitter in his hair. He looked positively captivating, and very pissed off.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet and almost stern. “Are you ill?”

She bit her lower lip and turned towards him, looking up at him from where she sat. It took her a moment before she could get the words out. She paused, and took a deep breath.

“I’m not sick, Jareth. I’m just overworked. Like I said, earlier, I run warm when I’m tired. I remember our conversation at Christmas about who gets hurt when I do foolish things. I promise."

His eyes narrowed and he took her hand, pulling her to her feet in front of him.

She jolted when he fixed her with his stare and she saw more darkness in there than anything else. An anxious flutter went through her.

“That means if you’ve done something imprudent, I’m going to have to find a way to punish you. You realize that?”

She swallowed hard, the words making her libido go nuts. Instead of saying anything, she set her hands on his chest and gave him a soft kiss. The rouge on her lips didn’t smudge on his mouth. She wondered if there was an enchantment in it. Useful thing, that. When she spoke, she stayed kissing close to him, looking into his eyes.

“In that case, Jareth, if it turns out I’m wrong and I am sick, you can punish me however you see fit.”

The darkness in his eyes changed, turned hotter. She knew that she’d just issued a challenge to him. When he spoke next, his lips curved into a smile that matched the darkness in his eyes.

“Count on it, darling.”

She felt a shiver work it’s way up her back, but she didn’t move away from him. That seemed to please him, too.

He offered her tulle opera gloves that were the same soft pink as the dress, and she slid them on, trying to ignore her nerves and not sure if she hoped that she was right or wrong about her physical condition. Still, she wanted a pleasant evening. She wanted to enjoy the time she got to spend with him. So she found her silk slippers, putting them on, and slipped her arm through his, letting him guide her out the door.

As during Yule, he gave her a tour of the castle before heading towards the ballroom. This one she found to be far brighter and full of hope and joy. The gardens reminded her of the arboretums in the above, complete with butterflies dancing in the light. It was beautiful, and a far less cold beauty than she’d seen in Gwales.

Mag Mell, he’d called the place.

The biggest difference, however, was how different everyone behaved when they entered a space. She noticed that the fae moved away from her, giving her a wide berth. That made her nerves jumpy.

“Did something happen? Is my being here a problem?”

He blinked, as though confused and looked around them. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and pensive. “I suppose the word got around regarding what happened to Titian after New Years.”

A chill crept up her spine at the mention of him. “What happened to him?”

“As I mentioned before, his queen will handle the final punishment.” Jareth’s expression wasn’t pleasant but it was very pleased. “However, before we left at New Years, I ensured his queen would not be getting any use out of him for some time in their bedroom,” he said. 

There was a tone in his voice that both invited and dared her to ask him more regarding it.

She didn’t think she was feeling brave enough to ask him to elaborate right then, so she ignored the dare. Regardless of what he’d done, she knew from experience it was equal to what had been done to her. She didn’t like Titian. He’d hurt her, and took what had looked to be a pleasant evening and almost turned it into a nightmare. She didn’t doubt that whatever Jareth had done in return was equally nasty. But she didn’t think she wanted the details.

They arrived at the ballroom, just as the first dance started, and he swept her onto the floor, not taking her to introduce her to their hosts, yet. She thought she saw a bit of nerves in her eyes, but she wrote that off as impossible. They’d danced several dances, before he pulled her from it, guiding her towards the edge of the dancers towards the dais where there sat a king and queen, resplendent in silver and gold. The pair looked too wrapped up in one another to notice the approach of guests.

Jareth just looked at them for a long moment, his lips pulling into a bit of an annoyed look before he glanced towards Sarah. “Brace yourself, precious. This is likely going to be…” He gave a sound not unlike a grumble, and he sighed. “A thing.”

A thing? She looked at her escort, perplexed, and then he cleared his throat. Her eyes moved back to the pair on the dais. The woman, dressed in gold, with a crown that reminded Sarah of the sun, looked up first, her blue eyes growing bright with joy. Her eyes moved over Jareth first, then to Sarah, running over her more slow, as if considering her. Then, a knowing smile twisted the woman’s lips. She got to her feet and raced down the dais towards them.

To Sarah’s surprise, Jareth placed a hand over his chest and bowed at the waist as the woman approached. Instinctively, she sank into a curtsy, rising when Jareth did.

“Oh, darling boy, it’s a joy to see you!” The woman took Jareth’s hands and bussed both of his cheeks with kisses. Sarah was surprised to see her escort enduring it without complaint, without even a glance towards her to rescue him. The king moved towards them at a more sedate pace, coming to a stop behind the queen, his silver and black clothing like the moon and night sky in comparison. “I didn’t realize you’d be in attendance!”

“You should have told us you’d be joining the celebrations, this year,” the man said, as he came to stand at his Queen’s side. “Your absences have been conspicuous of late.”

Jareth looked towards the king, nodding his head in agreement. “As was pointed out by several letters I’ve received. It was made clear that this duty could no longer be neglected.” He reclaimed one of his hands and brought it to rest against Sarah’s lower back. “Allow me to introduce Sarah Williams, accompanying me from the Above. Sarah, this is King Nuada and his wife, Queen Boann.”

Sarah gave another curtsy, trying to not look surprised at the courtesy that Jareth took during this introduction. As she straightened, she found both regents looking at her. Nuada’s gaze pinned hers for a long moment before he looked back at Jareth. Boann, however, moved towards her immediately, setting her hands under hers, a brilliant smile on her face.

“This is a pleasant surprise,” she said, eyes sparkling. “Jareth seldom brings anyone to events like these. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sarah Williams.”

“The pleasure is mine, your majesty,” she managed.

The king had moved in front of Jareth, and Sarah noticed for the first time the similarities in their faces. The same thin lips and nose. The same cheekbones. Meanwhile, Boann had the same silvery blond hair, and blue eyes. It hit her quite suddenly that these were Jareth’s parents, and she wondered why he hadn’t introduced them as such.

“We may not be here for long, Sarah is suffering from overwork,” Jareth said, shooting her a look from the corner of his eyes and she gave him a guilty smile. “But I wanted to show my face and let you know that I actually made it for once.”

Nuada’s eyes found her, and his lips twitched. The same smile, she noticed, meeting the king’s gaze. “He lets you get away with overworking yourself?”

“I only get away with it because afterwards I let him get away with bullying me into taking naps I don’t want,” she responded, lifting a brow and slanting a glance at her lover.

Boann gave a lilted laugh that drew the attention of the dancers that were close enough to hear. “Oh, I do want to hear more about this another time. It’s a pleasure to see him happen to someone else, and that person actually holds their own against him.”

Jareth gave a sound that was close to a groan, his eyes fixed on a point on the ceiling. 

“Mother,” he grumbled.

Sarah smiled at the queen, biting her lower lip. “It’s less holding my own and more a very complicated dance of compromise. As it is, I doubt I break even.”

“That’s still better than most,” Nuada said, his eyes on his son, again. He lifted a brow, as if waiting for more information.

Jareth cleared his throat. “Sarah ran the Labyrinth many years ago, the first to defeat me, as it were. Since we’ve been seeing each other again, we’ve been keeping one another on our toes.”

Sarah recognized the thunder in Nuada’s expression. She couldn’t have explained it, but it reminded her of Jareth when they’d faced off in the tunnels again. She blinked, surprised, and remembered what Jareth had told her. His parents had been the former regents of the Goblin Kingdom.

“Is that what happened at New Years?”

A chill worked its way up her and she wondered, again, what Jareth had done to Titian to punish him for hurting her. That tone couldn’t have been aimed at Jareth, could it? Sarah looked at her lover, and then at the king.

Jareth’s tone was equally dark when he spoke. “At New Years, Titian placed a mean spirited charm upon her. I had no hand in that. In fact, father, I was the one who got her out of there, and took care of her until the charm broke.”

“Good,” the older king said, his tone turning lighter. “Don’t let us keep you two. Enjoy your evening, and I do hope we’ll be seeing you for more of these celebrations.”

She looked at Nuada and gave him a warm smile, trying to ignore the chill she felt at the reminder of the “mean spirited charm” and Titian. “Any event Jareth decides to attend, I’m agreeable to being his plus one. I enjoy dancing, and he’s an excellent partner.

Jareth bowed to his parents, again, and she sank into a curtsey at his side. Then, he escorted her away from the rest of the dancers, looking a bit like someone had stroked his feathers the wrong way. She stroked her hand over his harm, a smile curving her lips. “Did they think you’d spellbound me?”

He shrugged, taking a steadying breath. “You’re mortal, and you’re with me. Besides, it’s not like they don’t have reasons for their concerns.”

She stopped, and circled around him, setting her hand on his face, meeting his gaze. “What was that?”

“My parents,” he said. “I thought that much was obvious.”

“I figured that out. I mean why would they think you’d spellbind me like that?”

Jareth shook his head, looking around. “This isn’t a good place to discuss that, darling. Let’s dance a little longer, and when we retire for the evening, we can discuss that.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Jareth.”


	13. Punishment and The Right Words

Sarah was feeling dizzy by the time Jareth stopped turning her around the dancefloor and pulled her off to the side. He waved down a waiter, and got them both a glass of champagne. He handed hers to her, and drank a long pull from his own. She could see a furrow of annoyance between his brows and she sipped her own drink, feeling a twinge of concern.

“What’s wrong?”

He was quiet for a long moment, his eyes wandering over the crowd. When he answered, his voice had a slight growl to it. “You lied to me, Sarah.”

“I didn’t,” she objected, confused. 

He turned towards her, and she found herself almost pinned against the wall. The angle he stood at left her one avenue of escape, not that she felt the need to do so. “Just a little warm, you said. I know you, Sarah. You flush easily, but at this point, I know this isn’t a blush. You have a fever.”

She looked into the champagne, pursing her lips. After a moment, she lifted her eyes and looked at him, taking a steadying breath. 

“Yes, I have a fever, I checked this morning.” He gave a snarl and started to turn away, and she caught his arm, holding him still. “It was low enough that I would have gone to school or the library to study if we didn’t have this engagement, tonight. It’s not so high that this is overtaxing me.”

Another snarl of temper left him.

As ever, it made her pulse race and she looked him in the eyes. “I’ve been looking forward to this. I didn’t get to enjoy New Years properly for very long. So I wanted to go to this one, Jareth. I wanted to dance with you.”

He met her gaze and she saw pleasure in his eyes mingling with the temper.

“I didn’t lie. I told you before we left my apartment that I had a bit of a fever.” She shifted closer to him, not looking away from his eyes, knowing she was challenging him, again. “And I’ll remind you, lover, that I already gave you permission to punish me.”

“You realize what you’re offering to me, Sarah-mine?”

“You’re the one who stole my book, so don’t act like you forgot that I like that.”

The sound he had been making changed from a growl, closer to a purr now. His other arm came to rest against the wall, trapping her there. A sharp smile curved his lips and he leaned closer, his lips very close to her ear. He didn’t say a word in answer. His teeth just scraped against her jaw, lips brushing close to her ears. She could see the swirl of dancers behind him and her cheeks darkened. She set her free hand against the wall, pushing herself closer to him and tilting her head to the side in invitation.

Instead of taking her up on the invitation, he straightened back up, a smirk still curving his lips, dark pleasure covering his face.

“Lord Jareth, is that you?”

She gave an internal groan and let her head thunk back against the wall behind her. Jareth shifted, his arm sliding smoothly around her waist as he turned towards the person approaching them. His voice was just a little too cheerful to be actually pleased.

“Lord Diarmuid, I didn’t realize you’d be in attendance.”

“I skipped the event on New Years, so I thought I’d better show my face at this one if I wanted to keep it. Especially since the people hosting it will absolutely notice if I’m not here.” The fae approaching them smiled, and when he saw her, his steps faltered. He gave her an appraising look. “Lady Sarah, you’re visiting the Underground, again?”

He didn’t even have to mention what had happened to her at the previous ball. There was alarm on his face, and surprise that she’d take such a risk. She forced a pleasant smile on her face, trying to ignore the urges that Jareth had stirred inside of her whenever he’d pin her like he had.

“Since my last visit ended so abruptly, I wanted to make it up to Jareth,” she said. “Besides, I enjoy his company so why wouldn’t I accept the invitation?”

She could almost feel Jareth preen at her side, as if she’d stroked his feathers just right.

“It was my understanding that was hardly your fault.” The other man laughed a bit, looking at Jareth. “I’m surprised you would take such a risk. I did warn you that they’d eat her alive.”

“Lady Sarah doesn’t need your attempt at gallantry, cousin,” Jareth’s teeth were on full display, but the smile wasn’t a pleasant one. It was a warning, and Sarah recognized that. “I can assure you. I’m perfectly capable of defending her.”

“And more important,” Sarah said, stepping forward. She stood straight, looking Lord Diarmuid in the eyes, her own narrowing. “What happened at the ball on New Years eve is none of your concern at all. If I decide to take a risk, that’s no business of yours. The situation was resolved with no input of yours, and I’m quite certain no one who knows what happened to Prince Titian would be so foolish to attempt something like that on me again.

Diarmuid’s eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back from her, glancing back at Jareth.

She didn’t know if Jareth was standing behind her looking particularly intimidating, or if she was what made the other man back up a step. A glance at Jareth found him looking entertained by the whole thing, and not intimidating in the slightest. As a tray-laden servant passed, she set her champagne flute on the tray and turned towards Jareth fully. “I think I’ve had enough of a rest, your majesty. I want to dance.”

Jareth stepped up to her side, offering her his arm and slanting a patronizing look in Diarmuid's direction. 

“My lady needs me for a dance,” he said, his smile all teeth as she took his arm and guided her back towards the floor. Once they were on the floor, his hand slid up her back, coaxing her close to him, a look of amusement on his face. “I must say, darling, I don’t think he knows what to make of you.”

She gave him a grin of her own. “Good. I’d better keep everyone on their toes, hadn’t I?”

She let herself get lost in his eyes, enjoying the pleasure she saw in them. He seemed to like that she could hold her own against his kind. As much as he liked that she wasn’t afraid of him. She hadn’t bothered telling him the truth of her feelings for him, yet. She didn’t want to risk the easy relationship they had going.

The evening was close to ending when she noticed her condition wasn’t getting better. She was starting to feel dizzy and too warm, and she hung on Jareth a little harder the longer time went on. She could see the look in his eyes, and thought he was starting to be suspicious that she wasn’t as well as she had led him to believe. The side of him that bullied her was shining a little brighter in his beautiful eyes.

“Are you unwell?”

She took a steadying breath, taking honest assessment and she sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder. “I think my fever is getting worse. I don’t think the champagne was a good idea.”

“Drugged?”

“Dehydration,” she answered, lifting her face to look at him. “I’m feeling dizzy. My head hurts and everything aches. I’m sorry.”

“As you should be,” he said, his voice a bit harsh against her ear. “Why’d you let this go on for so long?”

“Because I wanted to dance with you, and it’s harder to notice things like a fever when you’re pinning me against walls and trying to seduce me breathless.”

He gave her an unrepentant grin. His hand cupped her chin, lifting her face and the smile fell away. “You are looking a bit peaky, darling. We can go. I’ll let my parents know I’m taking you home.”

“It’s a pity,” she said, giving a quiet sigh and nodding her head. “I would have liked to dance with you more.”

The expression softened and he nodded in agreement.

“There will be other parties, darling.”

Will there be, she wondered, watching as he headed towards the dais, leaning to speak to his parents briefly, before returning to her side. He put an arm around her waist and she noted that as they left the ballroom, her strength was waning fast. His arm kept her up, and kept it from looking like she was about to faint, even though she was.

They’d just left through the massive double doors when her strength finally gave, and she slumped against him.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the castle beyond the Goblin City, staring up at the canopy of Jareth’s bed. She gave a quiet groan, and a hand touched her cheek.

She looked over and saw Jareth sitting on the bed beside her, no longer dressed for the ball. She wasn’t, either. And her teeth felt a bit grimy. She gave another groan, lifting her hands over her face.

“How bad was it?”

“Your mild fever spiked towards the end of the celebration. I suspect the thermal measurements we use are not the same, so I retrieved your thermometer from the bathroom. While you didn’t lie, you should have told me when you noticed your condition start to change.”

“I wasn’t certain it wasn’t the champagne at first.”

“Don’t make excuses, darling.”

She bit her lower lip, glancing away from him. “I’m sorry.”

“So you’ve said several times since we’ve been here.” He caught her chin, turning her face back so he was looking at her. “I haven’t administered your punishment, yet. You weren’t well enough to appreciate it.”

Heat rushed to her face, and she stared at him wide-eyed, remembering that she promised he could if she did something imprudent. His fingers stroked over her face, down the side of her cheek. “You’re spending today in bed.”

“Is that my punishment?” She asked, frowning a bit at him.

“Oh, no. You still owe me for worrying me when you fainted because you waited too long to let me know.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You could punish me, now.”

“No, I couldn’t.” He said, leaning over her, his face stern. “I don’t plan on punishing you until you’re well. If you wish, you can consider that a portion of it. But I intend to punish you with force so you know to not worry me in such a way ever again.”

Her heart hammered in her chest and she looked up at him through wide-eyes. Then, she nodded, a blush heating her cheeks. He dropped a kiss to her forehead, and she sighed, closing her eyes. His fingers worked through her hair as she lay there, and she opened her eyes, looking up at him.

“I really am sorry I worried you, Jareth.”

He nodded. “Just rest, darling. If you’re so overworked that you’re getting sick, you need it. And don’t think I’m above putting a sleeping spell on you for as long as I think you need it.”

She pouted, but nodded, looking up at him. “Then you crawl in here, too. Don’t think I don’t know you weren’t just as tired as I was, yesterday.”

His lips twitched, and he arched a brow. “The goblins brought me a lap desk. I do have work that I must do, but I planned on staying close, today. When my work is finished, I’ll lay down and have a nap. Good enough?”

She nodded, curling onto her side and closing her eyes with a sigh. She could feel his warmth at her side, and it put a smile on her face. She dozed in and out, and occasionally, between naps, Jareth would put food in front of her. Fruits and cheeses with bread, soups, a seasoned beef that was a little spicy. He wouldn’t turn down bites when she’d offer them to him, and she saw by midday, he’d set his work aside and was curled up on the bed with her. 

He enjoyed spoiling her, she remembered, but she wondered how often he’d had someone take care of him, spoil him. So whenever he gave her a chance, she’d try to return the favor. It did make her wonder if he’d let her spoil him in bed the way he’d spoiled her, so far. Thinking about it made her cheeks burn a little.

Jareth’s fingers brushed her cheek, then her forehead. “I thought your fever had broken.”

She didn’t know if she wanted to answer the question he hadn’t spoken. “It did.”

He lifted a brow and waited.

“I was blushing,” she admitted, taking a grape off the plate that had been brought after their dinner. Speculative interest on his face, again.

“Oh, now I’m very curious.” He leaned close to her, looking into her eyes.

Her lips twitched, and she considered telling him, then she shook her head. “I’m not going to say.”

“Don’t defy me, darling,” he teased, feigned annoyance in his eyes. He leaned closer, and his lips brushed her ear, sending shivers down her back. “Or I’ll have to modify the punishment I’ve already planned for you.”

“And how do you plan to punish me for that? How are you going to make sure I don’t worry you like that, again?” She felt her heart hammering in her chest as she asked.

He drew back just enough to give her a grin that sent all her blood rush out of her head all at once. His fingers traced over the neckline of that lovely wool dressing robe he’d given to her. Somehow, not touching her skin felt just as arousing as having him with his hands on her, and she gave a quiet gasp, biting her lower lip.

“Precious thing, I think you know exactly how I plan to punish you.”

She noticed too late that the plate they'd had settled between them was gone. Jareth shifted, his weight pinning her to his bed. Her breath caught, and she felt her nerves made her tremble. His lips curved into a wider smirk, and he moved his hands to her wrists, taking them in his own. She noticed too late that he’d taken the tie from her robe and she watched as he used the length of it to tie her wrists together.

The knot was skillfully done, she noted, and when he’d finished, he tucked the length of it between her hands.

A failsafe, she realized. A way to escape if she freaked out. She took a steadying breath and lifted her eyes to look at him. “If I need to stop, I’ll say ‘red’.”

He searched her eyes for a long moment, and then inclined his head, as if to say he understood what she had told him.

She trusted him, she thought, taking a steadying breath as he lifted himself off of her. His hand curled in her hair, the grip tight enough to sting, but he didn’t pull her hair. He used that hold to force her onto her knees. She winced, surprised a bit at the movement, but she rose with him, and met his gaze for a moment. He was gauging her, again, as if to measure her willingness. She took a deep breath and relaxed into the hold he had on her.

His voice was rough against her ear when he spoke.

“Place your hands on the headboard, and don’t move. Count out the number of strikes.”

She turned her back to him, gripping the headboard and she took a steadying breath. She could feel the cool air of the room on her backside when he flipped the bottom of the robe out of his way. A blush burned on her cheeks, and she worried her lip, nervously. His hand stroked over her for a moment, and then his hand drew away. She flinched, taking a deep breath. Before she could fully brace herself, his hand came down hard across her ass.

She yelped, the sting startling her. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the backs of her hands, taking a shaking breath. His fingers were gentle on the mark she was sure he’d left behind. 

“One,” she managed, closing her eyes.

His hand drew away from her, and then another stinging slap landed not far from the first. She bit back the urge to cry out, tightening her fingers on the frame of the bed, taking a steadying breath. “Two.”

One of his hands settled in her hair curled loosely in it, holding her head up so she couldn’t lower her head, again. When his hand came down on her ass a third time, the strike pulled at her hair just a bit. 

“Three,” she moaned, biting her lower lip and trying to focus.

She managed to get to five before she failed to count. The next strike was harder, and she yelped again, twisting a bit.

“I didn’t say stop counting, precious thing,” he growled, his voice soft and very close to her ear.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed. “Five.”

His fingers teased over her backside, to her slit, and she felt his fingers slide against her. Shit. She couldn’t help press back towards those fingers, and was rewarded with another sharp strike on her ass.

“Six,” she gasped, trying to stay still, this time.

“Very good,” he praised, and she sighed, closing her eyes. He rewarded her by giving her a single finger, teasing it against her clit, just for a moment. When he stopped, a whine escaped her.

“Please,” she whispered.

“Already begging?” The dark, pleased tone in his voice sent a shiver up her spine. “But I’m not nearly done, yet.”

That was the only warning she had before his hand struck her ass again, and she yelped, her face twisting in pain. Tears pricked her eyes as the strike hit a previous spot, causing the fading burn to sharpen. “Seven!”

She lost count of how long the spanking went on. Her ass burned and her slit throbbed. He released her hair and her head hung between her arms, seeing a widening circle of wetness on his sheets. She stared at it with dazed eyes, moaning as his hands found where she clung to his headboard, and she felt his warmth at her back, pulling her hands from the wood. 

He turned her, so she faced him, still on her knees, and he guided her back so she leaned against the headboard now. He gave her wrists a gentle squeeze, and when he set them over her head, she realized he’d pinned them there with magic again. She looked at him, dazed, and desperate.

He inclined his head, a smirk on his lips reminding her of when he’d stood in front of her the first time when she’d been a teenager, and had stolen her brother. Dark pleasure and amusement. A shiver worked its way up her back and she squirmed against the bindings.

It had been too long since he’d touched her, she realized, her face flushing. A full month since New Years, and he’d been teasing her with kisses and touches since then, but never more. She hung there by her arms, looking at him and panting.

“Please,” she whispered again.

He stroked her hair, the contact soothing, and then he traced his fingers down her from her lips to her clit. She wasn’t certain if she liked the look on his face, or not. It was mischief, mixed with a little bit of meanness. Dark and playful. His fingers traced over her, light and teasing, and she sighed in pleasure and need, relaxing into the touch.

He kept right on teasing his fingers against her, and she moaned, rocking against his fingers, aching. She was so close. Then, he took his hand away, and she sagged, dragging her eyes open to look at him. He was watching her face, and she realized he’d done that on purpose.

“Please?” She begged again, lifting her hips towards him, biting her lower lip. He smirked at her, and one hand cupped her chin, lifting her face.

“You’ll come when I let you, precious. I had plenty of time to consider exactly how to punish you for last night.”

She groaned, feeling his other hand teasing over her clit, again. She had no warning as his fingers pierced her folds a moment later. One hand held her face where he could see her, the other teasing her, again. Each thrust of his fingers into her pushed her closer to another peak, but just before she came, he’d stop, pulling his fingers from her. She groaned, head falling back.

The hand on her chin slid back into her hair, holding her still as he toyed with her. She’d start to come down a bit from the teasing and he’d resume it. She bucked against his fingers as they slid over her slit, brushed her clit, occasionally giving her their fullness before taking them away again. It was deliberate, and she knew it. But she liked it all too well to ask him to stop.

Soon, though, she saw the cruelty in it. He was piling pleasure on her, without giving her the option of release, just making her need greater and greater. She squirmed, trying to prolong the contact just a little longer, and more than once earned a stinging slap on her sex, which just made the arousal worse.

When the teasing stopped, it almost reminded her of the cruel charm that she’d received on New Years. Her cheeks were wet with tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed. A moan escaped her and she let her face come to rest against her arm. He shifted, putting his lips close to her ear.

“What were you thinking earlier that caused that fetching blush on your cheeks?”

She lifted her head, looking at him, slowly. She wanted to kiss him, but he was just a hair too far away. “I was thinking that you spoil me so much, but I never get to spoil you. And I wanted to give you the pleasure you’d given me on New Years.”

Surprise and pleasure on his face, and he stroked her cheek with a touch that brought her face towards him. He didn’t brush his lips on hers, instead, catching her lower lip between his teeth just a bit too hard. The sharpness of his teeth just drew a soft moan of pleasure from her.

“Is that something you want, precious thing? My pleasure?”

She nodded her head, a flush on her cheeks.

“Yes, please.”

He shifted off the bed, and she watched as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, pulling it over his head. She ran her eyes over every inch of his skin, her breath hitching in her chest when he reached for his pants. He pushed them over his hips until gravity took them and she stared, blinking several times. Her hands clenched over her head. Her breath shook out of her, and she wet her lips.

No codpiece, she realized. 

She swallowed hard, her brain shutting off completely as he climbed onto the bed and moved towards her on his hands and knees. He didn’t free her arms from where he’d pinned them on the headboard. Instead, he brought himself onto his knees, his cock close to her face. His hand curled into her hair, and he looked down at her.

“Open your mouth.”

She did as he ordered, and gave a strangled little sound of pleasure as his hand in her hair pulled her towards him. She let him guide her, until she realized she couldn’t possibly fit all of him in her mouth. He seemed to realize that, as well, drawing back just before she’d gag.

He used that grip on her hair, even as he started rolling his hips towards her mouth. A moan of want left her and she started moving towards him at the same pace, sucking in a quick breath between thrusts of his length into her mouth. She curled her tongue around him, lips tightening as he’d draw back, hearing the quiet growl he made when she did that. She forgot her own pleasure, wanting to please him, knowing he wouldn’t leave her hanging.

The man above her froze, the hand in her hair tightened, and she felt his cock swell between her lips. He came with a savage snarl, and she pressed closer to him as he spilled into her mouth, drinking him with enthusiasm. Even after he’d finished and was trying to draw back, she kept trying to lick him until she couldn’t reach his length any more.

He shifted, looking into her eyes, and she stared at him in a daze. His breathing was a little ragged when his gaze met hers. His hand softened in her hair, stroking along it. She thought he wanted to kiss her, even parted her lips in invitation, but he didn’t lean in, just kept stroking her hair for a long moment.

“Well done, precious thing,” he said, his voice rough. “I think it’s time I ended your suffering. Do you want that? Do you want to come?”

She nodded her head, looking up at him.

“Please? I want to come.”

Any other time, her cheeks would have burned in embarrassment, but right then, she didn’t care. She needed him, she needed this, and she’d beg and plead if it pleased him.

He shifted back, and she squirmed, lifting herself to him in need. His fingers slipped down her, stroking her molten core, curving into her, slowly filling her. She looked at him, biting her lower lip and trying to lift towards him further. His other hand stroked over the back of her head, soothing and gentle. She leaned back into his touch and a sigh escaped her. The gentle contact kept her grounded, and she was able to wait, even though she wanted more.

He shifted down her, holding her gaze for a long moment, before she realized what he was planning and a groan escaped her as he crouched between her thighs and she let them hang open wide for him. His tongue against her felt so good she thought she’d come, but the next stroke felt even better and she squirmed against his mouth and the stroke of his fingers inside of her.

He found a point inside of her that made her buck against him, and her head fell back. A gasped cry escaped her as he focused his touch there, fingertips moving against that point inside of her. Her pleasure condensed at the tip of his tongue and the caress of his fingers and she might have screamed if she’d been able to get a full gasp of breath before he heaved her over the edge and she came hard.

All that teasing was gone, now. She felt the press of another finger inside of her, and she bucked against him, again as he kept right on after her first release, pushing her hard towards a second, and then a third. Her vision whited out on the fourth, and she did cried out, sobbing in pleasure.

When she came to, he’d stopped and she gave a soft, plaintive moan. She felt his fingers brushing her cheeks, feeling him clearing the moisture away from them. She opened her eyes, looking up into his eyes and saw concern in his. She looked up at him, still dazed, and she leaned into the caress of his fingers. When he leaned forward and kissed her, the first kiss since he started, she parted her lips for him, tasting herself on his mouth. When he drew back, she chased his mouth.

Opening her eyes, she found the concern had edged back towards hot and hungry and he traced damp fingers over her lips. She licked his fingertips, finding the same taste there as covered his lips.

“Do you want more, precious thing?” His voice was rough with desire when he spoke, and she looked over him and a moan escaped her. She could see him hard and ready, again and she knew exactly what she wanted.

“Please,” she moaned, looking at him in desperation.

“Please what, precious?”

Her cheeks warmed, because she knew what he wanted to hear. She lifted her hips, looking him in the eyes. She wasn’t sure she could get the words out, but she knew he wouldn’t unless she said it.

“Please fuck me,” she managed to gasp out, looking at the length of him as it throbbed. “Please, I need you. Please -”

He silenced her with a kiss that was rough and hard and she was glad for it.

She needed the contact like she needed air, and she gave a blissful sigh. She felt his hips between her thighs and the magic he’d used to pin her released her. She moaned against his mouth as her muscles protested. He lifted her arms over his neck, and his arm went around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She could feel his considerable length against her and she pressed her face against his cheek, sucking in a desperate breath, feeling light headed, still.

“Please,” she gasped, squeezing her eyes closed. “Please fuck me.”

“Look at me, precious,” he growled soft against her ear.

She forced her head up, meeting his gaze. The look in his eyes was almost frightening. Then, he shifted, pulling her up so she straddled her thighs, his hands curling under her thighs. The head of his cock nudged against her folds and it took all her strength to keep looking him in the eyes. The look in them was almost frightening from the depth of the alien emotions in them. No man had ever looked at her like that. No one ever looked at her with that blend of desire and devotion.

His hands slid up her sides, a slow, deliberate caress, before slipping around her back, his hold keeping her from sinking down onto him. She shook, staring into his eyes, drowning in them.

“Please,” she begged. The look in his eyes sharpened, a little darker, like he was as drunk from staring into her eyes as she was looking into his.

He grinned at her, that sharp smile she loved so much, and his grip loosened, letting her slowly sink onto him.

She whimpered, almost looked away, but he’d wanted her to look at him, so she fought the urge. She couldn’t draw a full breath as he let her lower onto him. When her downward movement ceased, she let herself look away, looking down between them and finding that he wasn’t inside her completely.

Somehow, that made her hungrier for him.

“Please. Oh, please,” she gasped, not able to think or say anything else.

The arms around her grew tighter, lifting her off of him, just as slow as her initial descent had been. She whined, objecting to the loss of fullness, When he’d almost slipped free, his grip on her relaxed again, letting her slide back down his length. This time, she was able to take just a little bit more of his length into her. She sighed in bliss, and whined when he lifted her again, squirming against him.

The slowness of this was torture for her, but she liked it too well to ask him to stop. She wondered for the briefest moment how long he could sustain this pace before he snapped.

No sooner that she’d thought it, a growl left him and his arm slipped behind her back, holding her tight against him. He shifted, and she found him over her, her back resting on his mattress. His arms shifted, gripping her thighs and lifting them until they were over his arms and he looked down into her face.

She stared up into his beautiful eyes, so dark with need as he stared down at her, and then he pressed deeper inside of her. That little more was almost so good it hurt. She gave a plaintive moan, her head falling to the side as she pressed her hips up towards him, asking for more. He drew out, holding that position until she moaned again, using her arms around him to try to pull him towards her again.

“Please?” She whined, trying to lift her hips towards him.

He waited, still, and she forced herself to lift her eyes to him, again. When he was certain she was looking up at him, he filled her again. She pressed her head back against the pillow as she felt his hips come to rest against hers and she gave a cry that was filled with joy and need. The sound seemed to break his control, because when he drew back the next time, he didn’t hold back, didn’t wait. He slammed into her and she cried out again, head thrown back as he did.

He leaned down, his lips on her neck, and she felt the sharpness of his teeth on her skin as he sucked a love bite onto her, there. She shifted her head to the side, her arms curling over his head, holding him there as he maintained that hard pace. She arched against him, pressing her breasts to his chest, holding him close as he claimed her.

“Please,” she gasped, again, using her thighs to try to pull him closer still.

“Yes," he growled against her skin, and then she felt him thicken inside of her and she cried out, again as he bit her shoulder just hard enough that it hurt. That sharp pain pushed her over the edge and she came hard enough she almost blacked out again. 

When she came to, it was because he’d pulled from her and the emptiness made her groan from the loss. The man leaning over her seemed winded, even as he pulled her arms from over his head, and she noted that she ached everywhere. A groan left her and she shuddered, feeling weak and tired.

He freed her wrists, and she felt the faintest tingle as his fingers brushed against her wrists. He rolled her towards him, and she gave another quiet groan of pain, even as his hands started working on the aching muscles of her shoulders. She curled towards him, shuddering a bit, from everything, but the firm stroke of his hands were helping her focus and bring her back down from wherever she’d been.

She snuggled against his chest, still not sure she had words to say anything.

“You liked that,” he said, his voice quiet.

Gee, you think? She felt a grin twist her lips and she nodded her head, still feeling mush-mouthed. “Hmm.”

A rough chuckle escaped him, and he tilted her face up, giving her a very soft kiss. She bit his lower lip before he could draw back, a happy sigh escaping her.

She didn’t even notice the room around them change, but when she opened her eyes, they were on her bed. She looked up at him, perplexed. “Thought I’d be staying at your place, tonight?”

She wasn’t sure how she got those words past her lips.

“Yes, well, that was the initial idea, however my bed is a disaster, and right now I think it’s best if we recover here.” He gave a rough chuckle, his fingers stroking her cheek for a moment. “Are you coming back to yourself, then, darling?”

The endearment changed, and she tried to snuggle closer to him, still. “Yeah, I think so. It was just really intense. That’s the first time I’ve really played like that.”

He seemed to pause for a moment, and she thought he looked like she’d stroked his feathers just right, again. A smile curved his lips, and he kissed her shoulder, right where it throbbed from where he bit her at the end. A moment later, he sat up and brought her with him. He pressed a glass of water into her hand, and she suspected his inner bully was pushing him. That was okay, she decided, as she lifted the glass, sipping it.

“I didn’t hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine.” She hesitated for a moment, and looked at him, her lips curving into a smile. “It wasn’t too much. I liked it.”

He nodded, and his hands kept running over her until she could take stock of herself. Her shoulders ached like a wicked bitch from being pinned as they’d been. Her thighs felt like jelly. She lifted her eyes to him and she gave him a grin.

“I might not be able to walk, properly, tomorrow.”

The smile that curved his mouth was unrepentant and satisfied.

“My apologies.”

He didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. She laughed, wrapping her arms around him with a groan. He responded by working the muscles in her shoulders and biceps again, without her even needing to ask.

“I’ll be sore as hell, tomorrow, but I feel good, right now. Thank you.”

A quiet chuckle escaped him, and he continued snuggling her. “You’re more than welcome, darling. I enjoyed our little game, as well.” He went quiet for a moment, nuzzling her neck, his lips brushing against her.

Closing her eyes, she let him take care of her, holding the glass between them and taking sips until it was empty, and then she set it aside, curling against him.

“You remember what you asked me the other night?”

“Which thing,” she mumbled, feeling sleepy and exhausted.

“Regarding my father’s suspicion.”

She blinked. No, she hadn’t remembered until he’d brought it up, but she drew back and glanced up at him. “Uh, yeah. I had forgotten about it until you mentioned.”

“It’s not exactly pillow talk. My parents try to think the best of me, and I admit I’ve not always lived up to that. That’s why we need to have this talk, now. Especially if we’re going to play like we did tonight, more often.” he acknowledged, his expression turning serious. He gave a quiet sigh, and shifted them so they were laying down facing one another. She waited, seeing that he was deep in thought. “When I was still in training for my position, there was a time that Titian and I were in the same courts. We’d been friends, of a sort, or as close as most of my kind can come to that. This was long before he was Prince Consort to Georgine. I don’t doubt he wanted me to stay at that court with him when he’d finally successfully seduced her.”

She looked up at him, perplexed, a frown pulling at her lips. She gave him a cautious nod, seeing the expression on his face and not liking it. He had a wall up, one she couldn’t see past, like he was bracing himself, just in case.

“I’m younger than Titian, by a fair bit. And he didn’t always influence me in a positive manner. In fact, he never did. More than once, we were pulled aside and chastised for spellbinding someone at court, for our own amusement. The last time it happened at court, my parents ended up involved. The woman in question didn’t leave the situation unscathed, and the disappointment in their eyes woke me up to what I had done. I didn’t spellbind anyone again for a very long time. However, it’s not unreasonable that they jump to the conclusion that I was equally guilty in what happened.”

“How long,” she asked, her hand finding and wrapping around his, a frown pulling at her lips. “When was the last time?”

He stopped, his eyes meeting hers, and he seemed to think for a long time before he answered her. “Eighteen years ago,” he said, not looking away from her when he said it.

She blinked, surprised. “The peach?”

He shrugged, looking away from her for a long moment. “In that situation, it’s excused by my kind. It was part of the game, and my parents are very aware of what sort of game the Goblin King is expected to play with the runner. When warranted, they knew how to play dirty, too. I won’t pretend that my motivations back then weren’t petty and selfish. You’d insulted me, turned my own subjects against me. I wanted you to pay for that, and to lose and be trapped.”

She remembered his comments to his parents, again, remembered that there had been runners before her, and she shifted, looking into his eyes. “I was the first runner to beat you.”

He shrugged, and nodded his head, then looked away from her, again.

“When I mentioned who you were, they knew instantly that I’d spellbound you, before. He was making certain that I hadn’t done anything since to cause you harm.”

She let out a slow breath. “You could have told them about the arrangement? That I was in this because it was beneficial to us both?”

“No, darling, I couldn’t. No more than you could explain to your parents when we were there at Christmas.” He shook his head, and smiled at her. “They wouldn’t understand. Being at court with Titian soured me for those events. They didn’t have that sort of experience. They don’t have the history that I’ve had. That’s the real reason everyone was nervous of our presence. I’m volatile, and the courts know it. That’s why everyone was so shocked that I’d bring a mortal woman with me. It was a risk, especially in Gwales.”

She watched him fuss the wool robe around her shoulders, smoothing his hands over it, as if trying to keep her warm. She wondered what his parents would think of the arrangement, and lifted a hand, stroking his cheek, the touch gentle.

“More importantly, they don’t understand finding someone who is convenient, and having an agreement like ours was. They’ve always been so wrapped up in one another that they didn’t see anyone else. Everyone at court knew they’d end up married long before it happened. Love at first sight, I think, is what humans call it. They could never understand liking someone, and having affection deepen over time.”

“Jareth,” She wrapped an arm around him, stroking his cheek gently.

“They don’t understand wanting someone there that you trust, because they’ve always had it. And I never had. So I avoided them like the plague, when I could.”

“Besides most of the parties being mind-numbingly boring, are they so bad with me, there?”

A smile curved his lips and he tucked his forehead against hers, looking more relaxed than she could ever remember seeing him. “I admit, these last few have been far more enjoyable than any other I’ve been to. Even New Years, before what Titian did. I especially enjoyed watching you standing up to Diarmuid.”

She grinned, giving him a quick kiss. “Well, if I’m there to act as a buffer, I can’t exactly spend the whole time hiding behind you.”

“He tries very hard to be a valiant knight. He’s not good at understanding that a lady can fight for herself and when it happens, he doesn’t know what to do with that.”

“I noticed,” she said. He was smiling, that relaxed look still on his face, as if relieved that she hadn’t kicked him out of the bed. “I could almost see him panic.”

Jareth nodded in agreement, and shifted on the bed, laying on his back and guiding her head to his shoulder. His fingers traced soft patterns on her arm and he gave a quiet sigh. She snuggled against him, wrapping her arm over his waist and hugging him.

“Jareth, if I didn’t trust you, this wouldn’t have happened, tonight. I hope you know that.”

He looked at her and she lifted her eyes to look at him. A smile turned up his lips, and he kissed her forehead.

“I know, darling. If I didn’t trust you, it wouldn’t have happened, either.”


	14. Valentines and Wicked Pranks

The following few days, Sarah did have a lot of trouble walking to her classes. She’d roll out of bed, feeling rubber legged, and Jareth would just watch her and act smugly sympathetic. Still, that did nothing to stop them both from repeating the activity which kept causing her problems with walking.

She managed to complete her dissertation defense to her satisfaction while standing on rubber legs.

They didn’t play every evening. Sometimes, it was just really fantastic sex until they’d finally collapse on one of their beds in exhaustion. She didn’t think she’d ever met a man that she had such explosive chemistry with. She doubted she’d ever meet one, again, and that scared her a bit. Still, she remembered their conversation in her car after Christmas, about jumping ship when there wasn’t a problem. 

So, rather than panic, she threw herself into studying for her exams, and decided that for now, she could go with the flow. She didn’t dare speak the words that she thought with increasing frequency. She didn’t want to risk everything falling apart. She knew Jareth cared, but she was worried that her human feelings would be burdensome to him, and she didn’t want that.

As Valentine’s day approached, Jareth’s own workload picked up. This didn’t seem to surprise him. He said holidays were a trigger for some people. Still, she could see that each time it pulled him away from her that it annoyed him.

They had managed to work out a compromise with one another. She spent a few nights a week at his place. They’d work together on their respective work. She’d tuck in on the couch with a lap desk or a book she was studying, and he’d work from the massive desk. It gave them the company of being together, which was something she realized he appreciated. She appreciated the quality time, even when they weren’t focused on one another.

She’d been trying to decide if she should ask him to go to dinner with her on Valentine’s day. They hadn’t really done much of the dating thing outside of their functions in his realm. Now and then, he’d bundle her up and take her to dinner. Still, this would be different and she knew it. While they’d gone to visit her parents and to the holiday celebrations in his realm, they hadn’t done much as a couple.

As she walked through the halls near her class, she noted a vibrant red poster pinned on the cork board that hung there. She focused on it, turning the idea over in her mind. It was for a couple’s party on Valentine’s day. Dancing and alcohol were almost guaranteed, given the venue the party was being held at. Plenty of dark corners to steal away to.

She stood at the bulletin board, staring at the flyer for a long time, considering it.

Laughter startled her out of her focus, and she realized before she turned who was laughing. She turned and saw Tommy with several of his friends approaching her. Her ex-boyfriend wore a look of mean tempered amusement on his face.

She realized, after a moment, that Tommy was the sort to claim to be ‘dominant’ in a relationship in order to get away with being cruel to his significant other, while having no idea of the responsibilities that someone took when they claimed such a title.

“Don’t bother, Sarah.” Tommy and his friends were sneering, forming a half-circle around her. She squared her shoulders, turning towards them.

“Oh. Hello.” She said, keeping her tone cool. “What should I not bother with?”

“Couple’s only, Sub Zero. Haven’t seen your new boy-toy around, lately. Did he dump you when he realized what a frigid bitch you really are?”

She inclined her head, feeling a cold smile curving her lips. She could see the theatrical way Tommy’s friends shivered, as if it would hurt her. She allowed herself a moment to wonder how fucking desperate she’d been to actually agree to date this complete idiot in the first place. She would have spoken, could feel the acerbic words rising to her tongue.

A hand on her waist drew her attention, and she smelled the spicy scent of her lover. His hand curved around her waist, over her stomach. The move was so possessive she actually gave a bit of a shiver as Jareth’s chest came to rest against her back.

“I apologize for my tardiness, darling. Did you wait long?”

She turned in Jareth’s arms, ignoring the men behind her. As usual, his glamor was in place and he wore a handsome tailored suit that emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and trimness of his waist.

A smile lit her face that she knew looked warmer than anything those idiots would have ever seen. She couldn’t help it, Jareth always brought that out of her. She lifted her arms, putting them around him. She could hear the men behind her sputtering. “Not long at all.”

He turned, putting himself between the other men, shifting to her side, and escorting her down the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, Jareth spoke, his voice close to her ear.

“I’m amazed you are willing to tolerate that boy’s bullshit, Sarah.”

“I won’t lie,” she said, giving him a grin. “I have considered wishing him away to the goblins on a few occasions.”

“Now, darling,” he laughed, looking at her. “What have I done lately to deserve a threat like that?”

She laughed, slipping her arm around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder. “It’s fine, Jareth. I know he’s an idiot. I’m not going to wish him off to the goblins just because he is butthurt that I didn’t decide to be his blushing bride over his three inches of misery.”

“So cruel, darling.” He sounded like there was a laugh tickling his throat. “So, what weren’t you supposed to bother about?”

“There was a flyer on the bulletin board. There’s going to be a themed Valentine’s party near the school. I was already thinking about asking if you wanted to go on a date that night. I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining me. It’s couples only, and we haven’t really done much here like that. I like spending time with you, and I like going to the functions you have to attend. It’s been years since I went to a party like this, so I don’t know what it’ll be like, but I’d like to go if you can spare the time.”

He was quiet for a long moment, and when she looked up at him, she found that he had a soft sort of expression on his face. “I think time can be set aside on the fourteenth, darling. Your paper is finished, yes?”

“I just finished defending it, yesterday.” She said, feeling a disgraceful flutter in her chest.

“What do you have left before your commencement?”

“Oral exams.”

“I could give you an A on that, myself, precious thing.” His voice was a low, seductive growl near her ear.

The change in endearment caused a flush to rise to her cheeks. He only called her that when they were playing, and the words now nudged her over into that headspace. A shiver worked its way up her spine and she gave him a light smack, a signal that this wasn’t a good time or place for that. He barked out a laugh, and shifted, holding the door open for her as they left the hallway.

“From your reaction, I take it they aren’t grading you on how skilled your tongue is. My mistake, darling.”

“Jareth,” she bit her lower lip, hoping her raging blush wasn’t too obvious.

The smile he gave her tried for innocent and crashed and burned miles away from it. The action, however, reminded her again how much she loved his smile. He laced his fingers with hers and lifted them to his lips.

“Shall I take you shopping, then? A pretty new dress for our date? Or do you need to study for your exams, tonight?”

He knew exactly how to spoil her, didn’t he, she thought. A smile curved her lips and she tapped her chin, feigning deep thought on the matter, even knowing how she’d answer. Then, she shifted, putting herself in front of him, smiling up at him.

“Dinner, then shopping. Maybe a movie? And after Valentine’s day, I can study.”

He smirked, inclining his head. She knew he understood that she wanted him to help her partake in the midnight glitch at the library so she could have ample time to do so. They looked at each other, neither of them budging for a long moment, and then he laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist as they moved along the sidewalk again. His expression was one of absolute delight.

“Deal, darling. Assuming you can walk to the library.”

A blush colored her cheeks and she rolled her eyes. Still, she didn’t draw away from him, slipping her arm around his waist as well as they walked across the quad, feeling happy and content.

So, Jareth escorted her to a lovely little restaurant for dinner, and the jeans and sweater became a lovely black sheath dress, and her sneakers were swapped out with a set of unspeakably comfortable nude pumps. She was pretty sure that the shoes were enchanted, because there was no way they’d been made that way.

Funny, how asking him on a date prompted a date, she thought, but that’s what this felt like. So, they had champagne, and Italian food, and Sarah tried to not feel too smug about all the women staring at the man who was acting oblivious to the attention. After dinner, he teased her about taking her shopping in the Underground, which she told him would be lovely another time, but she needed something that held up to the modern aesthetics. A few boutiques found her a dress she was happy with, but she didn’t let him see it on her, yet.

She liked the gut-punched look he got when she dressed up, too much.

He teased her about defying him, again, and she promised to make it up to him, later. She didn’t find out until later that he’d picked up some pretty jewelry for her to complete her look with, and a pair of black pumps that reminded her of the nude ones, they were so comfortable.

They were so busy they missed the movie, which didn’t bother her. They went back to her apartment and put on something, and snuggled on her couch while they watched it together. Jareth seemed just as content with that decision, his chin resting on the crown of her head, his hands finding the muscles in her neck and shoulders that were always tight after working all day.

She reminded herself to give him a massage one of these days.

The next day, she took some time and studied before the party, and Jareth got called away fairly early for a wished away child. It was closing in on five p.m. when she decided she’d meet him at the party and left him a note, getting herself ready to go. 

She put her hair up in a simple knot, and put the deep garnet earrings in. They were a simple design, not the queenly type jewelry he lent her in his own realm. But they were pretty, and the same elegant design he always picked for her. When she slipped into the dress, she gave a turn, admiring the way the skirt flared out a bit from her. She put those wonderful pumps on, and grabbed the black handbag. Giving herself a quick look, she grabbed her winter coat and headed out.

She was glad that it had stopped snowing weeks ago, but the trade-off was a cold that set the teeth chattering. Today, she didn’t seem to feel it, and she grinned a bit in excitement as she arrived at the venue. The club was playing pop music when she ducked inside. She headed over to the bar, and got herself a bourbon and leaned against the bar, trying to relax.

Valentines day had never been her favorite holiday. Too many times, it was just a precursor to disappointment. This was the first time since she’d been a teenager that she felt excited about it. Still, as she leaned against the bar and nursed her drink, she noticed several of her exes were there. She’d have to make a concerted effort to keep Jareth away from them when he arrived.

If he didn’t get kept away with work.

She didn’t want to consider that. Still, she kept close to the door so she’d be easy to find, and looked out at the revelers.

“Where’s your sugar-daddy?”

Funny, how Jareth’s obvious show of wealth took him from “boy-toy” to “sugar-daddy” she thought, looking towards Tommy who had a stunning red-head on his arm. The woman wore a much shorter, much tighter dress than she wore, and the shade of red was flattering. She was petite, pretty, and looked like she’d bought Tommy’s act hook, line and sinker.

Sarah straightened, inclining her head as she turned to face this particular pain in the ass. She could see others glancing towards them, seeming surprised to see her there. She knocked back the rest of her bourbon and set the glass on the bar beside her, inclining her head. She heard the soft clink as the bartender gave her a refill. She gave Tommy a cool smile, lifting the glass in front of her, again.

She ignored the way he was looking her up and down as if she were there for his consumption.

“Surprise, surprise. Looks like even the Glacier can look pretty hot when she puts in some effort.” Tommy’s date looked at him, a pout pulling at her lips. Sarah gave the woman a look of sympathy, then looked back at him.

“I fail to see how that is any of your business, Tommy.” She knew she looked good. The dress was eye-catching, brilliant red, with skirts that hung down to just past her knees. It emphasized her curves, and lace in the same shade of red covered her chest from neck to the tops of her breasts. The fact was, however, she wasn’t dressed like this for him, and they both knew it. “I saw you managed to fix whatever problems you had with your original dissertation.”

“Well, after you sabotaged mine -”

She rolled her eyes. True, it was her fault, but not her hand that did it.

“Tit for tat, you stole my original dissertation when it was almost finished, and ready to turn in. I’m not an idiot, Tommy. I managed to scrounge up one of my older copies, with the date printed on it.” She gave him a smile when she saw he paled a little bit. “And you can’t prove that I had anything to do with whatever sabotage occurred.”

“Fucking bitch,” he snarled, stepping towards her.

“Now, if you’re quite done trying to prove that you’re a big man to the lovely young woman on your arm, please step off. I was trying to enjoy myself.” She lifted her drink in a toast, her smile on the chilly side of pleasant.

Tommy stepped towards her, away from his date, every line on his face screaming aggression. She looked at him, shifting her grip on her glass, ready to smash it into his face if it came to a fight. She shouldn’t have worried.

The air around her got cold, like she was standing outside. A hand grabbed Tommy’s shoulder, and the grip stopped the man’s forward momentum. Behind him, she saw Jareth standing there and sucked in a surprised breath at the unpleasant look on her lover’s face.

“Thomas, for your own sake, I suggest you step away from my lover, before I decide to resort to violence,” Jareth’s tone was cool and clipped, and Tommy turned, ready to swing, but he went pale when he saw the look on Jareth’s face. He wasn’t doing much to hide his nature. His fae features were hidden, yes, but the wildness that was usually held in check by the glamour seemed to be pulsing. Like his magic was just begging to be let loose on this fucking idiot.

Tommy’s date, however, looked like she’d been struck by Cupid’s bow and was just eating Jareth up with her eyes.

She stepped around the pair, towards Jareth, slipping her arm around her lover’s waist and setting her bourbon in his hand with a smile at the pair. 

“Tommy, I may be a fucking bitch, but this bitch isn’t one you’re ever getting to fuck.” She kept eye contact with her ex while she pressed her lips against the underside of Jareth’s jaw, before she turned her attention to his date. “I do hope you have a fun evening.”

She steered Jareth away from Tommy, keeping her warmth pressed against him to help distract him from any potentially murderous tendencies. She noticed, almost too late that Jareth arrived with flowers and chocolates, and her heart fluttered, a smile curving her lips as he handed them to her.

“Don’t think I don’t know you were trying to get those fools out of a potentially explosive situation.” He said, lifting a brow at her.

She shrugged, smiling at him and giving him a generous kiss. “It would be a shame to spoil the evening because one idiot didn’t know how to shut the fuck up.”

He waved down the bartender, handing her back her drink, looking amused.”You don’t have to force yourself to tolerate fools who insult you in such a way, darling.”

“Jareth, if I got into a scuffle with every idiot like him, I’d be in jail.” She gave him a smile, looking him up and down and taking him in. His suit was as beautifully tailored as ever, with a sharp sport coat and vest beneath. He wore a blood red shirt that was the same depth of color as the garnets in her ears. The tie was whimsical and unexpected, black with little red lip prints on it. When he leaned towards her, she turned to listen so she could hear him over the music.

“Come along, darling, at least let me dump him in an oubliette for a few hours? Imagine the good it might do for his personality?” He said, quiet against her ear. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

Her lips quirked into a bit of a smirk and she drew back, looking at him. “Are you trying to be a bad influence on me, your majesty?”

“Always,” he teased, eyes shining as he looked at her. He sipped his bourbon, and gave a pleased sound, then finished it in one go. “I do apologize for my tardiness. The wisher actually wanted to run the Labyrinth.”

“Did they succeed?” She asked, sipping her own.

“By the skin of their teeth, I believe is the saying. They were quite clever.” His eyes were running over the room, gaze sharp. Then, his eyes snapped back to her and a sharp smile curved his lips. “Not as clever as you, however.”

"Sweet talker." She ran her fingers over his vest to the collar of his shirt, a smile curving her lips. “Dressing to match, again?”

“Under ordinary circumstances, it lets others know whose partner you are.” He glanced around the room again, and a breath huffed out of him. “Here, however, given the number wearing red this eve, it seems that will not be the case.”

“Well, I think you look fantastic,” she said, smiling up at him.

He leaned close to her and she inclined her head to hear what he was going to say. Except he didn’t say anything at all. Instead, he growled, low and deep in his throat. As usual, that sound went straight to her libido, and she sucked in a sharp breath, gripping his arm. He knew exactly what that sound did to her, and she saw the pleasure in his eyes at her reaction.

His arm went around her back, helping keep her on her feet.

“So, my darling, what exactly was that fool attempting to pull, this time?”

She snuggled closer to Jareth and tucked her face against his collar. She could smell that warm, spicy scent from there and gave a quiet hum. “He was just trying to posture in front of his date. Had to try to pull that he was Billy Badass and pick a fight with ‘The Glacier’.”

Jareth gave her a perplexed look, and then a laugh bubbled out of him. The sound drew the attention of several people nearby, who turned to look, as if they were spellbound by the sound alone.

She could sympathize.

“Of all things they could call you, they picked that?!”

“Of the guys in this room, right now, there’s maybe five I haven’t been involved with at some point during the last eight years. Tommy wasn’t the first to use a nickname like that on me to call me frigid. In all honesty, he wasn’t even the worst about it.” She shrugged, not wanting to talk about this, more. Still, she noticed the dark, dangerous look that flashed in his eyes. She wasn’t certain she understood it at first.

Then he leaned down and kissed her, his teeth catching her lower lip and biting it just enough to sting. She relaxed into that kiss, and opened her eyes as he drew away. She set her hand on his jaw and looked him in the eyes.

“Before you ask, lover, no. None of them were ever in bed with me the way I let you be. I didn’t trust any of them enough to do that with them.”

That look faded back and pleasure took its place. The smile that curved his lips was just a little smug.

“Ahh, good to know, darling.”

She smiled, finishing her drink and ordering them each another one.

His fingers brushed down her arm from her shoulder to her elbow. “You don’t plan on drinking to your own disservice, do you, darling?”

“I don’t plan on getting as drunk as I did when I drunk dialed you before Christmas" she paused, looking at him."Damn, what’s the fae version of a drunk dial?” She flashed him a grin. “That said, maybe I should get that drunk more often. I can’t say it ended up being a bad decision on my end, hangover aside.”

“Oh, darling, I’m touched.” There was a trace of sarcasm in his voice, but it was tempered by the grin on his face. He leaned close to her, his voice low and smooth when he whispered in her ear. “Everyone here has their eyes on you, Sarah. I admit, that dress is quite fetching on you. It leaves just enough to the imagination to make one’s mouth water. Your hairstyle makes those lovely hickeys I left on the side of your neck visible to everyone.”

Her hand shot up, just remembering them. They weren’t visible in the mirror when she put her hair up.

“Like half the place doesn’t have their eyes on you,” she said, feeling the blush on her cheeks. “I thought Tommy’s date was going to faint when she saw you. You, acting like my knight in black armor, dressed to your exact advantage.”

He grinned. “Maybe they’re just curious about the man that melted you, Sarah-mine.”

“Maybe,” she conceded. “But you don’t see what we see when we look at you. Your anger on my behalf was impressive, and damn sexy. You weren’t doing a very good job hiding what you are, I thought you were going to rip his arm off and beat him with it.

“I can’t say I wasn’t tempted. I suppose it’s lucky for him that you objected to such a show of violence.” Jareth leaned very close to her, his smile all teeth. She didn’t back up an inch. Instead, she leaned closer to him, her lips brushing his ear.

“He’s not worth the effort.”

He gave a quiet laugh, turning so their faces were very close as he looked at her. She felt his hand come to rest low on her back, just above the curve of her ass. His lips brushed against hers, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Mmm, very well, darling. Let’s finish our drinks and have a dance. We have no reason at all to stay for long if we don’t actually enjoy ourselves.”

“Understood,” she smiled up at him, putting her arm up around his neck, stroking his hair between her fingers. “I think you’ll enjoy dancing here. It’s quite different from how they dance Underground.”

She saw his eyebrow lift in interest and his eyes turned towards the dancers who were writhing against one another in blissful oblivion. Sarah turned to watch them a bit, lifting a brow and shaking her head a bit. The music turned to something slower, and she grinned, stepping back towards the floor, keeping her hand behind his neck, drawing him with her even as she maintained her hold on her glass. Jareth’s hands came to rest on her hips and she tucked her head against his chest.

They swayed on the floor for a moment before either of them spoke, but she did notice that Jareth approved of the closeness between them.

“I noticed that there are several pairs in various stages of undress, already,” he said, casting a glance around the room.

“Not a surprise. That tends to happen. There are also party drugs being passed around if you keep your eyes open. So, don’t leave your glass alone. I did say at Yule that it seemed pretty mild, by current Aboveground standards for a party. Although I admit that was the first real pillow pit I’d seen. People here can be a lot more prudish about sex.”

“So I can see,” he said, and she felt his arms loop low on her waist. When he spoke again, she heard the smirk in his voice, the sound full of mischief and promise. “You know, darling. Everyone here is fairly deep in their particular vice of choice. We could spread a little mischief, if you’d like.”

She lifted her head, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. “What did you have in mind, your majesty?”

“Oh, there’s so many wonderful options. A drink spilled at just the right time, a really large spider, a terrible case of erectile dysfunction -”

She sputtered out a laugh at the last one, and Jareth grinned looking very pleased with himself. “You sound like you had that last one in mind already.”

“I may or may not have already used it on your unfortunate ex-boyfriend. I fear his date will have a very unsatisfying tryst this evening.”

As if saying the words summoned them in person, the cute red-head stormed off towards the bar, chased by Tommy, who was fumbling with his belt, trying to fasten it.

“Babe, I swear this has never happened before!”

Sarah pressed her face against Jareth’s jest, her hand clamped over her mouth to muffle the laugh that escaped her. Jareth tilted her face up, looking at her for a long time, his expression one of pleasure. His hand cupped her face, holding her face up, looking at her as if he was drunk just from that. Then, he kissed her, holding her there with that faint touch on her cheek. His tongue parted her lips and she gave a happy groan, her hand curling into his collar to encourage him to not go too far away.

There were several pranks, though she drew the line at the spiders, just because some of the people were tripping from things other than alcohol. Some of the ladies were going to have excellent evenings, and several of the men were going to have very bad ones after the party. She noticed that whichever end of that a person ended up on largely had to do with her impressions of the person and how those people treated her.

Something about that was quite touching, that his opinion of others was influenced by their treatment of her. It was normal, she supposed, if he cared for her even a fraction that she cared for him. Of course he’d be protective and defensive of her.

Between drinks and dancing and a lot of mischief, Jareth pinned her several times during the evening, and that told her more than anything how the rest of the evening was going to go. They both got quite a bit deeper into their cups than they should have, she thought. He didn’t even want to risk transporting them to her home, as tipsy as they were.

When they got to her home, they collapsed into her bed in a frenzy. Jareth teased her mercilessly, until she begged for him before he gave into his own lust. She could remember him staring down at her and pinning her wrists, the intensity in his gaze almost spellbinding her. He looked like he was getting more drunk off of touching her, off the power she let him have over her.

When she woke the next morning, they were still tangled together in her bed. She knew she had a hangover before she opened her eyes, and burrowed against her lover.The moan that escaped her was echoed by the man snuggled up beside her. Grabbing the blankets, she lifted them over their heads and rolled away from the window to block out some of the light.

“Stars, how much did we drink?” Jareth’s voice sounded sleep slurred, and pained. She would have laughed, but she thought it would hurt, and frankly, it wouldn’t be kind.

“Way more than we should have,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and heaving a sigh. “But I had more fun than I’ve ever had at one of those.”

A rough chuckle that ended in a groan escaped him, and his arms tightened around her, cuddling her quite close. She felt his fingers in the hair at the base of her scalp, rubbing her neck.

“I’m glad that you had fun, darling. We should do that again, sometime. Even the pranks. Perhaps next time to my kind. That would be an interesting change of pace to those events.”

She giggled, wrapping her arms around him, enjoying the closeness for now. She knew they couldn’t hide in the bed forever, though. She needed to go study, but for once, she really didn’t want to. A sigh escaped her, the sound wrung out of her and she closed her eyes, breathing the smell of him in as deep as she could. It was scary, how much she cared about him, now. They’d been together just short of two full months, but he’d wedged himself into her life so perfectly she couldn’t imagine him not being there, anymore.

A sigh escaped her lover, and he stroked a hand down her back. She felt the pressure of his lips at the crown of her head. “We should get some water and eat something. This damnable headache has teeth.”

“Can’t we snuggle a little longer?”

Another chuckle that ended in a groan. “I thought you were going to study, today, darling?”

“Do I have to?”

He went quiet and she drew back enough to look at him. There was a soft-looking smile on his face and he cupped her face, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “If you let me get us something to eat and drink, we can spend the rest of the morning snuggling if you wish.”

She gave him a shrewd look. “Can we have coffee, too, then?”

“Naturally,” he agreed, shifting so he was leaning over her, a smile on his face. “And if you decide you don’t want to study, today, I won’t tell a soul.”

She watched as he rolled out of the bed, and as she stared up at his naked back, the words fell from between her lips without thought.

“I love you.”


	15. Building Walls and Breaking Them Down

Sarah had spoken those words she’d never said to any man, and Jareth didn’t respond to them. He had stood, frozen in the middle of her bedroom, as if time had frozen around him. He didn’t even turn to look at her in response to the confession. She hadn’t even meant to say those words out loud. Saying it then had just felt right and natural, and slipped out of her. He left the room without a word, and that silence had filled the space that had been filled, before, with laughter and warmth.

When he returned to her side, she hadn’t known what to say to bridge whatever gap she’d created between them. He still didn’t respond, although he had brought a tray with food for her, and cups of water and coffee. Even though he’d said he’d tuck back in with her, after he got them food, as soon as her headache was feeling better, he said he had to leave her. A wisher, he’d said, and he was gone before she could object.

Fear hit her first. The fear that she’d ruined everything, that the best relationship she’d ever been in was going to end the same way as all the others. She found reasons to avoid being home, studying in the library day in and day out, not bothering to ask him if he’d help her by letting her utilize the glitch. When he’d come visit her in the evenings, she’d pretend that she was already asleep.

Emotionally, she’d retreated during the times they were together, when she couldn’t avoid being in the same space as him. The walls that he’d destroyed every day to that point, she started building them back up, brick by brick. She told herself she’d do that until she didn’t feel so afraid to see him.

That she’d do it until she wasn’t afraid that she’d break at the sight of him.

He still visited her, would make her coffee in the mornings, but the tangle of emotions in her throat were choking her just as they had when she’d decided she’d have to break up with him at Christmas. She didn’t dare say the words again.

She’d gotten caught up, she told herself, just like she’d been afraid she would. Now, the easy, warm relationship they’d been building with one another was ruined by her human feelings. Now, she felt the only reason he even visited her was because of his agreement with her father. To look after her, to not let her push him away.

This time, it wasn’t panic that was making her retreat.

That silence, those words that he hadn’t returned, were killing her. He tried, she knew he was trying to keep things between them as they had been. He still gave her easy affection, but she hadn’t let herself be vulnerable to him again. Before she realized it, that uneasiness had been going on for more than a month, and she was packing to go to her parents’ house for spring break.

She’d gotten off the phone with her dad not five minutes ago, when a voice came from the dimly lit space behind her.

“Going somewhere?”

She jumped, startled, and turned. Jareth stood by the windows in the living room, looking at her. She hadn’t heard him arrive, she’d been so deep in thought. It had been ages since he’d startled her with that. She tried to shake herself, looking at him and trying to find words.

He’d picked a bad time to come for a visit, she realized. She’d worked herself into a bad emotional state with her overthinking, and she pulled her eyes away from him. She couldn’t handle looking him in the eyes, right then. She felt a tear fall down her face and hastily lifted a hand to wipe it away, before she turned, forcing a smile that she could tell didn’t reach her eyes.

“It’s spring break. I told my parents I’d come for a visit,” she managed, keeping the ache in her heart out of her voice.

Jareth walked towards her, and she now saw the faint frown pulling at his lips. He didn’t set hands on her, but she could see the stubborn set to his jaw. “You didn’t mention this, yesterday.”

“It’s nothing big,” she swallowed hard, lowering her eyes to avoid looking at his perfect face. “It’s just a little tradition. I usually go there for a few days during the break from school. It’s not a big deal.”

When he stopped, he stood right in front of her, but she didn’t look up at him to see his expression. She focused on her hands, playing with the frayed end of her sweater and hoped he didn’t notice that she was exhausted because she wasn’t sleeping worth a damn at night.

“I was going to ask if you wished to join me for the Ostara celebrations, but if you have pre-existing plans, I could join you, instead?”

“No!”

The outburst must have shocked him. Hell, it shocked her. She jerked her head up to look at him, trying to calm herself down. The second her parents saw them together, they’d know something was up, and she’d end up telling them everything and she wasn’t ready to do that, yet.

“No?” His voice was flat, and she could hear the beginning of temper in it.

“It’s -” she false-started, then shook her head. Lowering her eyes and trying to not feel awkward, she forced herself to continue. “I know how busy you are. You don’t have to force yourself to come along with me for this. My parents aren’t expecting you, anyways.”

“I see.” If anything, his temper seemed to get worse. His hand caught her chin and he tilted her face up until she was forced to look into his eyes.

Damn him for being so perfect and beautiful, she thought, and swallowed hard. There was a lot of darkness and temper in there. It reminded her of the car ride home after Christmas. She forced herself to step back from him, brushing his hand away from her face and looking away from him again.

“You’re barely around, lately. I figured your duties as king -”

“Sarah, don’t insult me.” His voice was clipped, but he was doing an admirable job restraining his temper. “You’ve been avoiding and hiding away from me as much as I’ve been away. What the devil is going on?”

Tears pricked at her eyes, but the forceful way he spoke made her bristle and she lifted her face, looking at him. She wasn’t going to say it, again. She wasn’t. She’d already told him how she felt, and he’d left her hanging. She took that thought and wrapped it around herself like a shield.

“If you can’t figure that out on your own, then just don’t bother coming around anymore.”

He stopped, and the anger seemed to melt from his features as understanding set in.

She felt a tear roll down her face and swore, lifting a hand to wipe it away, but it was followed by a second. She was crying, and she hated that. She hadn’t wanted to cry in front of him. She always cried when she was angry and upset, it was something she couldn’t control.

Jareth stepped towards her again, and when his arms went around her, she didn’t bother fighting him. She needed the comfort, too much. She buried her face against his shoulder, and lifted her arms around him, curling her hands into the back of his shirt until they ached. A sob escaped her, and she bit her lower lip, trying to stem the flow of tears.

“You’re angry with me,” he said, his voice quiet, and his hand made a warm pass over her back.

“I’m not - It's not you I’m angry with, Jareth,” she finally managed. “I’m angry with _myself_. I’m the one who opened my big, _stupid_ mouth and burdened you with my stupid feelings.”

His caress smoothed over her hair, over and over until her sobs quieted and she calmed enough that she could breathe. Every now and then, the strokes of his hands would pause, and he would pat her shoulder. His cheek scrubbed against her hair and a sigh sounded like it was wrung from him.

“It’s my fault you’ve misunderstood my silence, darling. I am sorry for that.”

She felt a surge of confusion, and pulled back enough to look up at his face.

“What are you talking about?”

Jareth lowered his head and gave it a shake. After a moment, he took her hands and drew her towards the couch, sitting on it. He waited until she joined him on the couch and he sighed again, his thumbs stroking the backs of her hands.

“Sarah, how many people have you spoken those words to?”

The words surprised her, and her brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Most humans throw the word ‘love’ around, easily enough. They ‘love’ plenty of things. Their lovers, foods, pets, even their vehicles. But you’ve never been ‘most humans’, darling. I’d noticed, in the time that we’ve been together. When we visited your family, you didn’t even say them. You show how you care in other ways. Thoughtful gifts, courtesy and consideration. You aren’t the sort of person to just say words like that. So, if you’re saying those words, they’re not being said lightly.”

“Of course I don’t say them casually. Words have weight - you taught me that.” A rueful smile curved his lips. She bit her lower lip, shaking her head. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“If I were to say those words with casual disregard for the weight you used would do you a great disservice. So, I must weigh them with just as much care as you do. Which means, darling, before I can say them to you, I have to be certain of the measure of my feelings for you as you are of yours for me.”

Her lower lip escaped her control and she felt it tremble again. She thought she’d burst into tears at his words.

“While I was making you breakfast that morning, someone wished away a child. That’s why I had to leave, right away. Not because of the words you said. My workload is always heavy, between paperwork, the wishers, the social functions, and dealing with a kingdom of toddlers with drinking privileges, it’s not ever light duty. That’s just part of being a king. This year has been busier than usual. While I can’t say the words you did without the weight of them being comparatively insulting, I value the time we spend together. I care about you, Sarah. As a woman, a friend, and a lover. When I’m gone, I worry that you’re working too hard, and overwork myself. I worry that if I’m not there to make sure you are eating and resting, you are skipping meals and losing sleep.”

His words managed to break her control, and she felt tears falling down her cheeks. She sniffed hard, trying to breathe, her hands still clinging to his. “Idiot. Why didn’t you say that sooner? Do you realize what my head has been doing?”

“Given these last few minutes, darling, I can guess.” He gave her a smile that was filled with worries of his own and he stroked his fingers over her cheek. “I suppose I wasn’t certain what to say. It’s not many who can claim to have left the Goblin King at a loss for words, darling. And yet, that’s what happened. You said those words, and I had no idea what to say in return.”

She leaned forward against his chest and his grip left her hands and shifted to her waist as he pulled her into his lap. She bit her lower lip, and clung to him, pressing her face against his neck. That spicy scent filled her nose and she gave a quiet sigh, closing her eyes and breathing it deep like it was air and she’d been drowning without it.

“There are more balls you have to go to? You mentioned Ostara?” She wasn’t certain how she spoke without falling apart mid-sentence.

“I don’t have to go. I can miss a few, since I’ve shown up to a few. It’s not like I promised to attend this one.” His hand slid over her back, again. “I simply thought you might like to go with me. Imbolc and New Years were interrupted, and I know how much you like to dance.”

She didn’t mention she wouldn’t give a fig about dancing if it wasn’t with him. A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him as she settled against his chest. Her heart was still beating funny from everything else and she shook her head, taking a steadying breath. She really did have an engagement, and it had been planned for awhile.

“Maybe next time,” she said, and lifted her head to look at him. She could tell he was trying to decide if she was still overthinking things. His brow lifted and he got this tilt to his head, as if he was trying to read her, again. “Look, I’m not freaking out as bad, right now. The thing with my parents has been on my calendar since last year. “

After a moment, he nodded his head, and a quiet sigh left him. “And you were leaving, today?”

Something in his voice caught her attention, and she recognized the tone from when they’d play together. She straightened and looked at him.

“Yes, I told them that I’d be there, tonight.”

“And did you tell your father about those bags that I see under your lovely eyes, precious thing?”

“It’s not even my fault that I haven't been sleeping for shit, Jareth. I warned you way before the ink was dry that I overthink things.” She smacked his shoulder, lightly.

“And you were planning to drive while overtired, again, even after Imbolc?” The bully in his eyes both aroused her and irritated her, right then. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to strangle him or kiss him senseless.

“Jareth -”

“I’ll handle it.” His voice was quiet, then, and she blinked. When she looked at him, his expression was serious, and he took her hands again, looking at her. It took her a moment to realize he meant to teleport her, and she grabbed his hands, squeezing them.

“I already told you, I can’t do that. If I show up without a car, they’ll notice.” She frowned at him, wondering what he was playing at.

“When did you speak with your father, darling.”

“Half an hour ago -”

“Then get comfortable. I’ll drop you off at your parents house in a few hours. In the meantime, you are taking a nap.”

“I told you -”

“And I told you, Sarah. You’re not making this drive if you haven’t rested. I’ll use a sleeping spell on you if I must.”

She gave him a dark look that dissolved when he tugged her back against his chest and leaned back against the arm of the couch, smoothing her hair.

“You’re a bully, Jareth.”

He didn’t answer the quip, just holding her, his breath stirring the hair at the crown of her head.

“I am sorry, darling, that I worried you to this point. I just wish you’d said something sooner. The last month has not been enjoyable, and I don’t wish to endure something like it again.”

“Jareth, you don’t have to apologize for this. My neurotic brain couldn’t actually work out asking about this without a metric fuck ton of alcohol being involved. I had already thought I’d ruined anything. There was no way in hell I was going to talk about this unless you basically made me do it.”

A rough chuckle left him, and he hugged her closer. She felt the graze of his lips against her hair and closed her eyes, giving a quiet sigh.

“Alright, darling. Let’s have a snuggle and a bit of a nap. Then I’ll make certain your parents have no reason to ask any questions about why you don’t have a car when I drop you off.”

She looked up at him, and her heart twisted in her chest hard. After a long moment, she nodded and let him settle her onto the couch before he wrapped around her. His arm was thrown over her waist, holding her tight against his chest. Another wish was wrung out of her and after a moment, she twisted towards him so she was facing him.

“You’re tired, too,” she noted, lifting a hand and brushing it through his hair. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and she felt a twinge of guilt. If they’d talked about this right after it happened, they would have saved one another a world of pain and grief.

“I am. Your overthinking problem has led me to worrying more than I already do,” he admitted, giving her a careless grin and stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter. “Beltane is in May. That’s plenty soon enough for another party in my realm. It will be held at Tir na Nog, and parties there are absolutely worth attending. If you join me, perhaps we can treat them to the same sort of fun we gave those at the Valentine’s party?”

She laughed, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around him, holding on tight. He was talking about May like he knew they would still be together at that point. Something about that made her start to relax. “As long as it doesn’t get you in any trouble, I’d like that.”

They went quiet for a long time, Jareth’s hand still stroking over her back, pausing on occasion to grip her, as if enjoying the reality that she was still there. She realized, in hindsight that she’d worried him, as well. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pressed her face against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Jareth. That I worried you with this. I’ll try to be better about communicating. I was just...scared.”

“You communicate just fine when anything else is riding you. Just not about your feelings. I knew that, and didn’t take that into consideration. I’ll endeavor to be as patient with you as you’ve been with me. We can work through problems like this, darling. Remember what I said about jumping ship when there isn’t a problem?”

“I wasn’t trying to jump ship, I was -” she stopped herself, sighing. When his finger hooked under her chin and tilted her face up, she bit her lower lip. His face was so serious, not even a teasing smile, there. “I was bracing myself.”

There was understanding in his eyes, and he gave a quiet sigh, drawing her close and kissing her forehead.

“Darling, you need not brace yourself for rejection over the depth of your affection for me. I don’t plan on leaving you unless that’s your wish.” His voice was quiet and pensive, and after a moment, he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. “For now, trust that I do not plan to put myself into a situation I do not wish to be in. I’m here because I want to be with you.”

“Alright,” she whispered, closing her eyes and holding onto him tight. She couldn’t promise him that as soon as she was alone, she wouldn’t start overthinking this. He hadn’t said the words back to her, but she couldn’t argue with the logic of why he hadn’t said the words to her. What he’d offered was better than not having him at all, so she’d cling to that as long as she could. He wanted to be with her, and she wanted to be with him.

For now, she could let that be enough.

They napped on her couch, and when they weren’t sleeping, they continued to lay there for hours. Neither of them spoke much, they were just holding onto each other. Now and then, he’d brush his lips against her hair, and his grip on her would grow tighter, and she wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure her or himself.

After a few hours, he transported them near enough to her childhood home that she wouldn’t be late from when she’d said she’d arrive. To her surprise, they arrived at a car rental shop, and she glanced at her lover from the corner of her eyes. “Jareth, what is this?”

“This is me keeping you out of trouble, darling,” he said, a positively devilish smirk on his face. 

She watched as he went inside, and she followed him in with her luggage. Jareth had attendants positively tripping over themselves to assist him, and he just kept a smile on his face as he worked with them. When it was over, he returned to her side, dangling a set of keys in front of her with a smug smile on his face.

She blinked in surprise, and her eyes narrowed a bit. “You know how to drive a car?”

“Given that I have a lover who thinks she can drive and regardless of how tired she is, not fall asleep, I decided it was a valuable thing to learn if I was going to protect her from herself.” His tone leaned towards tart, and she blinked, looking up at him through wide-eyes.

Her brain struggled to process that information. She had thought him having a credit card was esoteric, but him knowing how to drive a car - learning to do so for her - was a whole new level.

The car he’d selected was a sleek black two door luxury car. From here, she could see that there were leather seats that looked world’s more comfortable than her beater Toyota.

He gave her a smirk which turned into one of his infectious smiles, and wrapped his arm around her, escorting her outside to the vehicle. He held the passenger door open for her, and when she sat down, closed it and loaded her luggage into the trunk. When he got into the driver's seat, she watched, nervous, as he started the car and pulled away from the rental shop.

As she relaxed and buckled her belt, she glanced at him, and noted that with his glamour, he looked perfectly comfortable and quite pleased with himself.

“This is way too much for such a short trip.”

“Your parents don’t know it was a short trip, darling. Just relax and enjoy the ride. I’m a king and I don’t intend to drop my lover off anywhere in anything that doesn’t let everyone who we pass by be very aware of that.” He glanced towards her, before returning his eyes to the road. He looked like he was enjoying himself far too much, and she suspected some of that entertainment was at her expense.

A smile curved her lips at his infectious cheer, and she reached over, her fingers brushing against his hand. Before she could withdraw, his hand turned in hers, his fingers lacing through hers. She bit her lower lip, fighting a brief battle with herself. When he pulled into the driveway, she hesitated to open the door.

“Easter is on Sunday.”

He blinked, as if he hadn’t expected her to say something, and he turned to look at her.

“Easter?”

“I think it’s our equivalent to Ostara. There aren’t any lavish parties, and the celebration is probably way different. But I think my parents would be thrilled to have you here for it,” she offered, biting her lower lip, trying to smother her nerves. “It’s not fancy, just an egg hunt and baskets for the littles, and a big lunch. I’d be heading home after that, anyways.”

He leaned back in the driver’s seat, and looked at her for a long moment. His fingers still held hers captive, and he seemed to think about it, his expression turning serious, again. “Then I suppose I will see you Saturday evening, darling.”

She closed her eyes and nodded her head in acceptance. When he drew his hand from hers, she sat there for a long moment, thinking as he moved around the car. She heard the trunk pop open and she reached for the passenger door, pushing it open. Before she stepped out, he reached her, extending his hand to her. She took a deep breath and reached her hand out, accepting his assistance.

When she reached for her luggage, he tugged her close and his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. He was smiling, again, mischief in his beautiful eyes as he leaned over to whisper against her ear.

“Your father is watching from the entry window.”

“Yes, I would think so. A strange car just pulled into his driveway,” she said, lifting a brow. “I’m not surprised at all that he’s trying to see who it is.”

A laugh left him and he leaned close, his lips finding hers in a scorching kiss. Her knees went weak and her libido howled in want, reminding her that it had been some time since they’d been that intimate. She grabbed his shirt out of instinct, as his tongue pressed between her lips, and her breath quickened. When he finally released her mouth, she stared up at him through wide-eyes, fairly certain she had a stupid look on her face.

Jareth gave her a quick wink and escorted her towards the door with a hand at her waist, not giving her a single goddamned bag. Once they were standing on the porch, he gave her a smug grin, setting the bags down as her father opened the door.

Robert looked at them for a long moment, seeming surprised and delighted to see Jareth. “We weren’t expecting to see you!”

“Sarah didn’t rest well, last evening, so I drove her here. She seems to think that driving while exhausted is acceptable, so I’m trying to break that habit. If it’s not an inconvenience, I’ll be back Saturday night and stay over for Easter?”

She could have strangled him for telling her father that, but she had to admire how smooth he was about it.

Robert straightened and nodded his head. “Thank you, then, for making sure she got here safely, Jareth. And we’d be glad to have you with us for Easter.”

Her father took her bags before she could stop him and she turned to Jareth, lips twisting a bit, not sure if she wanted to smile or frown at him. Her lover leaned close, giving her a soft kiss on her temple, and smiled at her with warmth. His hand lifted and stroked her cheek with a very soft touch.

“I’ll see you Saturday evening, Sarah.”

The touch, the words, wiped away most of her annoyance and a grudging smile curved her lips.

“You’re a bully, Jareth.”

“You like that I’m a bully, darling.” His reminder was whispered against her ear as he wrapped his other arm around her, before drawing back and giving her one of those smiles that made her heart do backflips. “If it means that you’re cared for, I’ll do what I must. I look forward to the next time you decide to bully me, as well.”

She blushed, lifting her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest. “I’ll see you, Saturday.”

He gave her one last squeeze, and then stepped away from her. She watched as he headed down the stairs and got into the car. When he was seated, he gestured for her to go inside, and waited until she did before he backed out of the driveway and left her there.

She watched him leave from the window, worrying her bottom lip and wondering if she’d be able to sleep that night.

“Was that Jareth?” Irene asked, coming over and looking out the window with her.

“Yeah,” she said, and she looked at her mother. Irene gave her a warm smile and put her arms around her, giving her a hug.

“It’s a pity he couldn’t stay,” she said, and it sounded like she meant it.

“Yeah, he has to work,” Sarah said, and gave her a smile. “But he said he’ll be here Saturday night and will stay with us through Easter.”

Her expression was one of pleasant surprise, and she put her arm around Sarah, giving her a squeeze as they walked with her into the living room.

“He’s looking after you?”

“Better than I look after myself,” she admitted.

Irene nodded her approval, and Sarah did her best to not think about how much that meant to her.

“There’s coffee in the kitchen, if you want any. I know it isn’t your boyfriend’s but it’s still good. Help yourself if you would like.”

The tease made her blush, but she nodded, and went into the kitchen to get herself a cup. She sat down on the couch and enjoyed the brief peace with them before Toby and Mariah arrived with the littles in tow. She was glad she got that quiet time with them, first. Her parents would dance around the topic of her boyfriend, like they had questions but weren’t certain if it was appropriate to ask them.

She avoided the topic, herself, because she wasn’t certain how to answer any questions they might have.

Toby, on the other hand, seemed to arrow in on questions and throw them at her without remorse. He pointed out how long she’d been with one man, how long three months was for her to be in a relationship as if she didn’t realize that. She didn’t need Toby ribbing her about it when she was already uncertain about how it would go.

She managed for about an hour before she begged the need for rest and retreated up to her bedroom. Standing in that room, she looked at the full-sized bed and wondered how the fuck she was going to manage to get any sleep. Still, she climbed in and tried, finding herself tossing and turning. Her brain kept turning over his reasoning for saying those words back to her, and while they made sense, that didn’t bring her peace.

By morning, her nerves were so frayed she thought she was going to snap.

The next five days were hellish for her. Not seeing him at all, not even having the hint of him being there was hard. The scent of him on the sheets had been washed away when Irene had changed the Christmas linen. Everyone noticed she wasn’t herself. There was concern and relief in the looks she could see Irene and Robert give her, and she knew they were glad she’d finally found a man who could drive her to distraction. Toby, however, it freaked out.

By Friday night, she was exhausted, and looking forward to the following night when Jareth would be there and she’d actually be able to rest. Even as tired as she was tonight, she knew she wouldn’t sleep well. She was just leaving the shower when the doorbell rang, and a frown pulled her lips. Looking at the clock, she found it was almost ten o’clock at night. She heard her father go to answer the door and headed part way down the stairs, to see who was calling so late.

“We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow! What a pleasant surprise.”

“I apologize for the hour,” Jareth’s voice filtered up to her and she grabbed the banister to keep from running and throwing herself into his arms. “I would have called, but I decided to reroute on my way home from work.”

In the dim light, she could see his blonde hair, and his weary face. Her heart caught in her throat as if it was trying to leap out at him. As if he felt her eyes on him, his eyes lifted and met hers. Even in the bad light, she could see dark circles under his beautiful eyes that matched the ones under her own. Her heart ached as she realized that he hadn’t slept any better than she had and she bit her lower lip.

Her father stepped aside, letting Jareth come into the house and locked up behind him. 

Jareth met her on the stairs and gave her a weary smile. He didn’t speak, yet, just extended his hand to her. She bit her lower lip, lacing her fingers through his and smiling for him.

Once they were safely in her room, he set the bag he’d brought with him down, and put his arms around her, his face pressed against the top of her head.

“You don’t look like you’ve slept a wink since I dropped you off here.”

“We match,” she said, lifting her arms around him and hugging him back. “We didn’t expect you, tonight.”

His arms around her tightened, as though he thought she might disappear as he stood there, holding her. Then, after a long moment, his breath left him in a gusty sigh, and he nuzzled the top of her head.

“I missed you.”

The words startled her, but more than that, the way he said it was the surprise. The words left him like he’d been waiting to say them since he’d dropped her off. Her heart clenched again and she curled her hands into the back of his shirt, biting her lip. She felt her eyes grow a bit wet with tears, but she blinked them back.

“I missed you, too.”

He drew back and smiled for her, his hand cradling her jaw and lifting her face. His eyes seemed to shine, even in the darkness of the room. Then, he leaned down, his lips brushing against hers. The caress was soft, almost too light to feel more than the warmth of his mouth.

“Then, my darling, let’s tuck into bed and make up for the sleep we have both clearly been missing. And I’ll make you coffee in the morning.” There was a twist to his lips that made her smile.

She gave a quiet groan of pleasure, grinning at him. “Okay, your majesty. You’ve convinced me.”

She almost turned to climb into the bed, but he didn’t release her at first, holding her there. She paused, turning back towards him and looking up at his face. His expression was complicated, and she thought she saw nerves in his eyes. They reminded her of when he’d taken her in front of his parents and introduced them.

“After we’ve left on Sunday, I want to take you to the Castle beyond the Goblin City for a little while. There is something I want to show you, and something important we need to discuss.”

Her own nerves jumped and she swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump of fear in her throat.

He must have seen her nerves, because his hands smoothed the hair on either side of her head as he drew her close and he gave her a much more thorough kiss, this time. “It’s not as bad as you’re thinking it is, darling. I promise you that. It’s just something that I’ve been putting off.”

She exhaled, slow and controlled, trying to control her nerves. Lifting her eyes to his, she dug deep for strength, because she trusted him so much, and she wanted to trust him with this, as well. But she’d been burnt so many times and so it was difficult. She gave herself a moment, finding his hands on the sides of her face, and holding them, giving them a squeeze.

“Alright. Then we’ll go after we leave here, okay? And we can talk about whatever you’d like.”

He looked at her for a long moment. She knew he could see the nerves in her own eyes, so she didn’t bother trying to hide them from him. A sigh escaped him and he nodded his head, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her against him, holding onto her tight. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him, as well, and reminding herself of something very important. 

No matter how he felt or didn’t feel for her, this was where he really wanted to be.


	16. Confessions and Quiet Requests

Easter wasn’t as quiet an affair as Christmas. In the few months they’d been away, Matthew had learned several fun new words since “mama” and “dada”. Several of them told her that her brother was at least listening to her, because she knew the toddler had learned them from his father. She also thought the boy was repeating them because he thought the surprised look on his grandmother’s face was funny. Emily had started scooting across the floor, chasing after her little brother. Both of them had an eye for shiny things, and would rush towards them as soon as they were set down.

Mariah was visibly pregnant, and couldn’t chase after the children any more. So Toby had no choice but to step up, because his wife couldn’t keep up. Jareth quickly grew annoyed with Toby relying so heavily on the women of the family to do the heavy lifting when it came to caring for the children. Rather than lashing out at the now twenty year old man, he took Toby and the littles outside.

Sarah didn’t know what Jareth had said to him, but Toby stepped up, after that. She didn’t know how long it would last, but seeing her lover have a positive influence on her brother was both interesting and entertaining. Especially when Toby told Mariah to go take a nap, bundled her up and tucked her into bed.

In short, the brief time Jareth was with Toby on Saturday was doing more for his confidence as a father and a husband than being married for two full years.

Mariah, however, watched Jareth whenever they were in the same room, her expression one of suspicion and speculation. On Sunday, while the others were outside helping the littles hunt for eggs, Sarah drug her sister in law into the kitchen, and got them both a cup. Sarah got coffee, Mariah got decaf tea.

Mariah looked disappointed into her cup, and then looked at Sarah. “You wanted to talk?”

Sarah gestured towards the back door with her chin. “Did he do something to piss you off?”

Surprise on the other woman’s face. Then she leaned against the counter next to Sarah, giving a quiet sigh and then shook her head. “It’s not that. He said something at Christmas that has been puzzling me since then.”

“What did he say?” she asked, lifting her coffee and taking a sip.

“He said the right words start with ‘I wish’, but he didn’t say anything other than that, so it’s been troubling me.”

Sarah choked on her sip of coffee, looking at Mariah in surprise. Then, she glanced towards the door and exhaled slowly through her nose. She’d almost forgotten the conversation she’d had with her sister in law before they’d left. She rubbed her forehead with one hand and set the coffee next to her on the counter.

“Well, he’d know, wouldn’t he?” She muttered, shaking her head. Some warning would have been nice.

Her sister in law looked at her, confused.

Sarah heaved a sigh through her nose and turned the coffee cup on the counter while she considered, for a long moment, how to explain this. “Come on. If we’re in the living room, we can keep an eye on the doors so that no one else overhears this.”

She led a baffled Mariah into the living room and tucked a pillow under the woman’s feet as she groaned down onto the couch. “I said Jareth would know. You remember the story I told you at Christmas?”

“Of course.”

“Jareth was the one who took Toby when I was fifteen.”

Her sister in law jackknifed up into a seated position, staring at her in shock. She seemed to turn this over in her head, as well as what she knew of Jareth and of her, and a frown pulled at her lips.

“You’re dating the king of the goblins?”

Sarah gave a bit of a shrug, cradling her cup between her hands, keeping an eye on the back door so she could keep an eye for when the others were coming in so she could cut the conversation short if she needed to, or move it to another room. “If we’re going to talk about recent stuff, I’m going to make you swear to secrecy. If Toby or my parents find out about this, it’s going to be a headache that I really don’t need.”

“Then I swear, because I’m not going to sleep for weeks without details.”

Sarah gave a bit of a grin, and decided that much assurance was enough. “So, I’m sure you noticed that I don’t tend to have much in the way of relationships. When I tried, they’d fall apart fairly quick. Most guys wouldn’t tolerate me not giving them the attention they wanted. But I hate disappointing my parents. So I lied and told them that I had a boyfriend. Before the twenty first, I didn’t. On the evening of the twentieth, I bought a bottle of vodka and got very drunk, and I ended up wishing myself away to the goblins. I woke up the next morning with a massive hangover and Jareth in my apartment. Naturally, I don’t remember much of anything that happened. He told me what I’d done and told me that they don’t provide that particular service.”

Mariah snorted a little into her tea, and Sarah grinned in response.

“Apparently, I’d asked him to be my boyfriend for Christmas.” Mariah sputtered again, and Sarah grinned at her. “Yeah. So, he made me breakfast, and then told me what I’d said, and said that there was a situation that he needed a plus one for. We decided to have a fake relationship for the holidays.”

“You two didn’t act like you were faking anything. The sexual tension was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife. I thought it was because you two weren’t doing hanky panky in your father’s house.”

Sarah winced a bit, not aware she’d been projecting so bad then. “Well, I’ve always been attracted to him, but he’s not human. I even tried to call it quits right after because I knew I was getting tangled up. For whatever good that did, my dad liked him enough that he made sure Jareth wouldn’t let me back out.”

“So he’s here because you two are fake dating? That’s a long time to maintain a fake relationship.”

“At this point, there’s nothing fake about it,” she admitted, biting her lower lip and looking into her coffee cup. “Before we left here, I was already getting emotionally twisted up, and by New Years, he made sure I knew that even though it had started out fake, it wasn’t any more.” She shrugged, and sighed. “We work well together. He’s good at making sure I take care of myself and balance rest and work. I ended up falling in love with him, and said it just after Valentine’s day. He’s still sorting out himself, I think. He hasn’t said anything back, so I’ve been...emotionally preparing myself for him to not feel the same.”

“But he’s here,” Mariah said, her voice quiet.

“Yes.” And even now, Sarah wasn’t certain what to make of that. But she was glad of it, because she slept better when he was there, and was more at ease, even when she was so uncertain.

The two sat in silence, sipping their drinks, and then Mariah looked at her from under her brows, seeming to think for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and pensive.

“He knew, then, didn’t he. That you were telling me what happened back then?”

“Yeah.” Sarah nodded. “He showed up at the door right before I told you and he nodded, and stayed by the door until you left to make sure our conversation would stay private. He’s the reason I know that not every child is wished away for selfish reasons. That for some, it’s better for the child and the wisher if the child isn’t there, anymore.”

The young mother slumped back into her seat, shaking her head. “Your life seems so much more complicated than mine.”

“Yours is plenty complicated without adding fae suitors to the mix, Mariah,” she said, grinning a bit. “I can’t even begin to tell my parents some of the things I’ve done. Even just the last few months. You know I had to rewrite my entire dissertation because a shitty ex-boyfriend stole mine? Jareth made sure that happened, and made sure that the ex wouldn’t profit from my hard work.”

“ _What?!_ How did you manage that?!”

“I have a lover with magic that literally gave me all the time I needed to finish the work, and made sure I stayed on task, focused, and cared for while I was doing it.” Sarah rolled her mug between her hands, giving a quiet sigh.”

“You two seem so good together. I can’t believe that you started out like that.”

She lifted her face and smiled at her sister in law. “It’s on him, now. He knows how I feel for him. Now I just have to be patient while he sorts out how he feels.”

Sarah couldn’t stand the sympathy on Mariah’s face. It wasn’t her sister in law’s fault, but it made her heart twist in an uncomfortable way. She got to her feet and shotgunned the last of her coffee, and offered Mariah a hand so she could get up. “Come on, let’s go save my little brother from the kids, and my lover from your husband.”

Mariah gave a laugh and nodded in agreement. “Let’s.”

Everyone ate lunch out in the yard, and Sarah noticed as the afternoon drug on, Jareth seemed to be getting withdrawn and thoughtful, so she decided to cut the afternoon a bit short, giving the excuse of the long drive to get them out of there. Jareth drove them to the same rental shop he’d initially picked the car up at, dropping it off, and the keys in the slot, before transporting her and their luggage to the castle entrance. Goblins took the luggage away, and Sarah quietly hoped it all got put where it needed to be.

“So, you wanted to talk?”

His jaw clenched a bit, and he set a hand at her lower back, gesturing for her to enter the throne room before him.

The first thing she noticed was that the room was pristine. She’d never seen it look like this. She didn’t even see a random chicken feather on the floor. Goblins were bustling around, behind a large tarp that surrounded the dais that the king’s throne sat on. She stepped away from her lover, turning around as she took everything in.

Goblins peaked out and saw her and ran away with shrill giggles, as if they had secrets they had to go tell the others.

“What’s going on?” She turned towards him, confused.

“Come along, there’s more to see,” he said, and gestured towards the arch that led down the hallway. She remembered it, because it was the one she took to the Escher room during her first trip. More goblin giggles, and scurrying as they walked through the halls to the large double doors that led into his office. Everything along the walk was just as clean as the throne room, as if the halls had been scrubbed and dusted until they shone.

Inside the office, Sarah paused. His desk had been shifted, and another, smaller desk had been fitted into the space where the couch she often read on had once been. The couch had been moved further back, and there were new bookcases.

What on earth, she wondered, looking back at him. The second desk was smaller, more feminine in design, and there was a chair that looked just as comfortable as his own set behind it. Unlike the king’s desk, it was bare of anything, as if waiting for someone to come in and add personal touches to it.

After a moment, his hand came to rest on her lower back again and she jumped a bit, turning towards him. He gestured for her to leave the room, first, and escorted her further down the hall. In all the time since they’d left the throne room, he hadn’t said a word, and his face showed little expression. That did nothing to alleviate her confusion.

Their next stop wasn’t his bedroom. It was a set of doors just down the hall from his, and when he pushed those doors open for her and stepped aside, so she could examine the space.

The room was open and airy, with large windows that overlooked the Labyrinth. She could see a balcony that stretched beyond them, outside. The space was occupied with a massive bed covered in pale linens, with a canopy of sheer fabric to let the light pass through. There was a small table and chair near the fireplace, a wardrobe that was made of light wood and a vanity beside it. The floor was covered in plush rugs, and there was a small door to the side. Her own nerves were jumping from his silence, but she moved forward, opening the wardrobe, and she found beautiful gowns hanging inside of it. A few caught her eyes immediately, due to recognition.

Green chiffon silk and lace, with dark green beads sparkling to catch the eye. Blue silk and lace with beads that looked like the night sky. Pink and dark purple chiffon silk. Shoes to match the gowns, and gloves in a small drawer that matched them as well.

They were gowns Jareth had provided her for the parties she’d attended with him. She turned towards him, but a jewelry box on the vanity caught her eyes, and she moved towards it, opening it. Carefully displayed in each drawer were the same beautiful, timeless pieces he’d provided for her. Emeralds and diamonds and sapphires. Platinum, gold and pearls.

She felt her lower lip quiver and she bit it fiercely, before turning, finding him still standing by the door to the room, watching her and waiting.

“Jareth, what is all of this?” She asked, not wanting to make any assumptions.

When he spoke, his voice was low and quiet. “My answer to your confession.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she stared at him.

A room for her, with things he’d gotten for her, a space for him to work alongside him in his own study. Something being built on the dais where his own throne had been. Something added. Everything cleaned top to bottom, until the place was almost unrecognizable. Before she said a word, he started speaking again, his tone still low and quiet.

“I will understand if it’s not something you want. I started all of this without speaking with you, first. In honesty, I hadn’t planned to ask until after your commencement.” He looked away from her, shutting the doors to the room behind him, keeping his back to her for a long moment before he spoke again. “I realized when I saw you a week ago, that this wasn’t something I could put off discussing with you any longer.”

“Jareth,” she breathed, unable to speak any louder than he had.

“I’ve been preparing the kingdom for the arrival of the woman I have wished to be my queen.” He turned, looking at her, again. “You, Sarah.”

Her knees gave out and she managed to catch herself on the table and dump herself into the chair near her. 

He started walking towards her, his face so serious it almost hurt. “You’re the only person I’ve ever known who has been able to meet me on equal footing, both in wit and in bed. For a very long time, I’d resigned myself to a marriage of convenience, both political and personal. Things like marriage seldom require heart to be involved. And then, you called me back into your life.”

She stared up at him, feeling tears on her cheeks, but she couldn’t find any words. Her hands lifted, covering her mouth, her shock silencing her.

“You were so worried about getting tangled up with me, and it turned out that I ended up just as tangled up with you. I love you. And I wouldn’t just be honored, I would be overjoyed if you would consent to being my queen, Sarah.”

Her throat had closed, but he had extended his hand to her. She blinked her tears back, reaching towards him and gripping the hand he offered her as tight as she could. Her breathing hitched in her chest, and she almost sobbed as she pressed her face against the back of his hand. She still hadn’t managed to get an answer out, but he just stayed there, holding her hand and waiting. When she finally regained some control, she nodded, sucking in deep breaths, trying to not burst into tears again.

“Yes,” she whispered back, unable to speak any louder than that at the moment. When she lifted her face, she saw his restrained emotions fraying and she nodded again, saying it louder a second time. “Yes.”

A smile curved his lips and he crouched down in front of her chair, pulling her from it and into his lap, holding her close. He didn’t speak for a long moment, either. His face pressed against her hair as he held onto her like she might disappear. Then, he shifted, and she felt him pull something from his pocket.

She sat back a bit from him, and saw he was holding a ring in his hand, between them. Like everything else he’d given her, it was simple and elegant. The stone in the center was deep red, with pink hues in it, surrounded by white stones, and then pink ones.

It was breathtaking, and she stared at it in wonder.

“Shall I put this where it belongs, then, love?” He asked, a bit of mischief in his voice when he spoke.

The word almost had her bursting into sobs again, but she swallowed them and managed to smile for him, nodding her head. “Yes.”

His hand took hers, and he slipped the ring onto her finger, holding onto her hand once it was in place. They both sat there staring down at it for a moment, before she bit her lower lip and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him as tight as she could. His arms slipped around her, and he held onto her just as tight as she held onto him. She felt his face press against her shoulder, just holding onto her for a long moment.

When he finally spoke, his voice sounded rough from his own emotions.

“Thank you.”

She drew back and cupped his face between her hands, giving him a shining smile and an enthusiastic, generous kiss. She felt the smile that curved his lips, and pulled back again enough to look up at him.

“Is this what took you so long to say it back to me?”

He hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head.

“I wish I could say that were the case. But I started all of this long before you said those words to me. I began arranging this when you were working here, with me, on your paper. I knew, then, that I wanted you to be my queen. We work too well together for me to not consider marriage to you in a pragmatic, sensible way, first. I cared for you, and knew I wanted to keep caring for you. Marriages here are often for practical or political reasons, and even enough feeling to care is uncommon. My parents aren’t the rule, they’ve always been a serious deviation from tradition, one that the courts did not necessarily approve of.”

She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. That meant he started this before he knew her feelings for him, and still wanted her. She lifted her hand, cupping his cheek and searching his gaze, feeling her brow furrow a bit.

“Jareth,” she murmured, and his gaze lifted, looking at her from beneath his brows.

“I knew, from watching how hard you worked then, that you could handle the burdens and responsibilities of the title of queen. At the time, I thought that would be enough. When you said you loved me -” He stopped himself, seeming for a moment like he was at a loss for words, just thinking about that. She’d never seen him like that, ever. “I realized then that no matter how well we worked together, you’d never agree if I didn’t feel the same for you. I wouldn’t even have the right to ask you if I wasn’t certain. And because I knew the weight of those words from you, I knew I’d have to be certain of my own before I dared.”

She bit her lower lip, hard, resting her forehead against his. She felt his thumb tug her lower lip from her teeth and met his gaze from under her brows.

“I can’t sleep when you’re gone. I worry about you too much to relax enough to do so. When you withdrew from me, emotionally, it hurt. I understand why you did, but I won’t lie about how that felt. After I dropped you off at your parents’ house, I was a mess. I couldn’t focus or rest. In the end, I went to my parents house, to ask them how they knew for certain about their feelings for one another.” He gave a quiet huff, looking at her. “They told me they’d never seen me like this over a woman. I certainly never brought anyone before them for them to meet, so I suppose they’re right. I never lost sleep over a lover before. In the end, they gave me their blessing.”

He stopped talking and looked at her, and she could see that even with her answer, his nerves were scraping at him. That’s what he’d been hiding since before they left her parents’ house, when he’d been showing her around the castle. A smile curved her lips and she found his hands with hers, climbing out of his lap and tugging him to his feet. She looked up at him for a long moment, searching his eyes and then she stepped back, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head, looking him in the eyes as she dropped it beside her. She reached for his hands again, lacing her fingers with his and lifting his hand to her cheek, holding it there.

The breath that escaped him was heavy, as if he’d been holding it. One of his hands slipped behind her neck, pulling her close and kissing her. The kiss was tenderness and warmth, the passion inside of him burning under the surface. As his tongue slipped between her lips and tangled with hers, she wrapped her arms up around him, holding him close. His other arm wrapped low around her back, holding her flush against him, so she could feel what kissing her was doing to him.

She slid her arms around him, finding the line of buttons on the front of his shirt and opening them until she could slip her hands over his back, enjoying the opportunity to actually have her hands on him. Most of the time, he took that option from her, but he did nothing to stop her, this time.

The kiss broke, and he drew back for a moment, freeing the cuffs, and tossing the shirt off into the room somewhere. His hands found her cheeks, and he drew her towards him again, kissing her just as deep as before. The sound he made when their lips touched again was like that moment apart had been too long. Relief and need and desire.

With a groan, she reached back, finding the clasp of her bra and unhooked it, shifting so it fell between them, and then she could feel his skin pressed against hers and she wrapped her arms around him just as tight as before, clinging to him.

He took a step back, bringing her with him as he went. She stumbled a bit as she toed out of her sneakers on the way. When they reached the bed, he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her, turning and setting her back against the blankets. The muscle control and skill that move required to be so smooth left her breathless. She swallowed hard, flipping the fly of her jeans, and starting to kick them off. He found the waist of them, sliding them and her panties down with one movement. He was less patient with his own clothing, kicking his boots off somewhere into the room, and shoving his pants out of his way before he climbed onto the bed with her and wrapping his arms around her before he kissed her again.

Another moan escaped her and she arched against him, sliding her hands over his back, clinging to him to remind herself that this wasn’t a dream. He was real and here, and he loved her. He really loved her.

He lifted his head for a moment, looking down at her with awe and wonder in his expression and a smile curved her lips. He looked like he’d thought the same thing she had.

She lifted her arms up around his neck, drawing him down and giving him another warm kiss, pressing herself up against him in invitation. He came to rest against her, and she sighed at the weight of him over her. She felt one of his hands slip from her hip, up along her ribs until he cupped her breast and she sighed, pressing up into the touch. Each caress was firm and with purpose, none of the teasing from the previous times he’d been in bed with her.

As he drew back, she caught his lower lip between his teeth, looking up at him from beneath her brows. He looked carnal, dangerous, but the darkness that she saw when they played was tempered. She wondered, for a moment, what she looked like to him, right then.

He didn’t let her wonder about that for long.

He shifted down her, pressing an open mouth kiss to her neck, lifting off of her just a bit as he moved. The next kiss fell on her shoulder, and the one after that was pressed over her heart. His lips lingered there for a moment. She looked down at him and watched as his eyes closed and he pressed his forehead there for a long moment. She ran her fingers through his feathery hair, embracing him and holding him there while his nose brushed her skin.

Then, he was moving again, pressing another open kiss between her ribs, then on her stomach below her belly button. He pulled a quiet groan from her when his lips found the hollow of her hip, and she felt the wet swipe of his tongue on her skin. Her eyes closed and she arched into his kiss, shuddering with arousal. He shifted between her thighs and then his lips brushed through the hair on her mound, before they found her folds. She bit her lips, pressing towards him, her legs falling open for him. His hands wrapped over her thighs as his lips parted and she dug her head back against the pillows as his tongue ran against her.

“Jareth,” she gasped, one hand finding his hair and she had to fight the urge to curl it into a fist, to pull him tighter against her.

He made a sound she’d never heard from him before, and his mouth fit against her more tightly as he tasted her over and over, until she thought she’d go mad from wanting him. When he finally lifted his face and looked up at her, she used her grip on her hair to pull him up until he was stretched out over her, again. She pulled his face to hers, kissing him desperately, tasting herself on his lips as his tongue slipped out and tangled with hers. She lifted her thighs around his hips, feeling the tip of his cock brush against her, and she curled her hands against his back, pressing towards it.

One of his hands shifted between them, and she broke the kiss, looking down between them as he shifted towards her, filling her in a slow stroke. She arched against him, scratching her nails along his back, and biting her lip to keep from crying out to him. When his hips finally came to rest against hers, he stayed very still for a moment and she lifted her head.

He was looking at her, his gaze piercing hers. Then, he smiled, and his forehead came to rest against hers, one of his hands coming up to caress her cheek. Then, he moved against her, rolling his hips against her and she pressed up against each thrust. The instinctive urge to beg rose to her lips, but she bit it back, cupping his face and looking up at him between slow, drugging kisses.

Each kiss she graced him with seemed to spur him on, and before long the slow, artful movements grew faster, harder. She gasped against his lips, only realizing her eyes had closed when she dragged them open and found him looking down at her. His eyes were so filled with emotions, more than she’d ever seen, and it shattered the last of the walls she’d kept around her heart.

Her own pleasure and need condensed, and she felt him thicken and that pushed her harder. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight against her, giving a quiet whimper as she came.

Her lover swore soundly against her shoulder and she felt the faintest prick of his teeth against her, as if he’d only just stopped himself from biting down like he had the other times they’d been in bed. She tilted her head to the side, inviting the sweet pain, even as she felt him throb inside of her, each thrust of his hips spiking her own fading orgasm. She gave a desperate laugh, curling her hand into his hair to hold onto him.

They lay like that for a long moment after their lovemaking ended. Then, he lifted his chest from hers, looking down at her with his beautiful, brilliant eyes shining. He looked positively luminous, otherworldly and perfect. A smile curved her lips, and she lifted a hand, caressing his face.

“I love you,” she whispered.

His forehead came down to rest against hers again and she watched as his lips curved into a warm, genuine smile.

“I love you, too.”


	17. Tir na Nog and Power Flares

Sarah found that engagement to Jareth wasn’t that different from being his lover. Their working relationship that had been going on since their reunion still worked just fine for both of them. Sarah was refreshed to find there were no jokes being made in the kingdom about her being a ball and chain. On days she wasn’t studying for her exams, he brought her to his office, and started educating her on things she’d need to know in order to be an effective queen. There was a sense of deep emotional fulfillment in the work that she’d never experienced before.

She didn’t even know how to express to him how relieved she was that her trust in him hadn’t been misplaced.

As he’d promised before, Jareth took her “shopping” in the Underground before the celebration of Beltane. Shopping there was a far more involved process than it was in the Above, which wasn’t something she’d been prepared for. It was even more involved when your lover was someone who took notice of fashion and knew the value of how to dress to one’s advantage.

He took her to a boutique that catered to the gentry and nobility, and she was heaved into a hurricane of movement. Jareth wasn’t having her fitted for a single gown. It seemed like he was commissioning her a full wardrobe. Several exquisite gowns, as well as dresses for working days at court were fitted on her. Fabrics of every color and lustre were laid against her skin, as if they were looking for the very specific looks for each.

“This seems like too much,” she said, looking at Jareth as he relaxed on a couch during one of her fittings and saw the grin on his face take a sharp edge.”

“Love, you’re going to be a queen. That means a shameful number of functions we’ll be expected to attend, especially after your station is announced and you’ve been coronated. Which is why I don’t intend to announce that until towards the end of the year. I assure you, your own restraint is all that is keeping this from being a larger fiasco than it is.” He shifted out of the way of a few goblin merchants who were bringing more bolts of fabric, jewels, and lengths of beaded trim. “A regent's clothing is always bespoke. You’ll have a lot more day dresses that are for working days at the castle, rather than balls or courtly affairs, but never underestimate the power of a perfect outfit upon the courts.”

The pale gold gown he’d commissioned at the same time for Beltane certainly qualified as a perfect outfit. The neckline had cold beaded trim that created a v down the bodice and made her waist appear slim, especially with the aid of the corset she wore beneath. The skirts were filled with the aid of a crinoline, and there was a modest train on the floor behind her. Her slippers matched the darker gold of the floral embroidery on the full skirts. The jewelry was as elegant as everything else he’d chosen for her, sophisticated pieces that sparkled and caught the eye. She had a nagging suspicion that these pieces weren’t just yellow topaz or citrine.

Well before Beltane, he’d insisted that she practice wearing the boned corset. She appreciated that when she was first laced into it. Even with the enchantments that she knew were woven into it to make wearing it more comfortable, she could feel the pressure of the boning when it was laced up, the pinch in her ability to draw a full breath. Even though it could have been laced tighter, like most of the ladies at the balls wore, he’d refused.

He said he liked the curves she had too much to diminish them, which flattered her and led to them ending up in his bed, again.

Still, she spent a great deal of time in her own realm, preparing for her tests, and she knew Jareth took advantage of the days there so he could rest, as well. Some days when she’d be studying at the table, she’d realize that Jareth was sleeping on her couch. Once or twice, just seeing him there convinced her that it’d be a good idea to tuck in right there with him and have a nap, herself.

The morning of May first, Jareth met her in her apartment, and she noticed there was tension that she hadn’t expected around his eyes. Before she could even ask, he transported them straight into their dressing room in Tir na Nog. He didn’t speak at first, and she recognized that he was struggling with himself at the moment.

She took his hands and met his gaze, her own serious. “What’s wrong?”

His eyes lifted to her own and he took a deep breath. His jaw clenched, and she could see that whatever the answer was, he didn’t want to give it to her. Still, she waited, and after a long moment, he released a breath and nodded his head.

“Titian will be in attendance. I just found out when I arrived here to procure a private space for us to dress.” His words were short, and she didn’t like the anxiety she saw in his eyes. He didn’t speak for a long moment, instead pulling her to his chest, and holding onto her tight. “Nothing will happen to you. I swear it to you.”

Meaning Titian was probably still pissed with her, and likely Jareth as well, after whatever he’d suffered as punishment for what he’d done on New Years.

That was just fine, she decided, clenching her teeth. She was still pissed off at Titian, too. Regardless of how amazing Jareth had been at taking care of her, she had been dealing with anxiety whenever the bastard brushed against her life, and she couldn’t just keep pretending she didn’t feel it. Maybe if she got the chance to punch him once or twice, she’d feel better about the whole thing.

Jareth helped her into the complicated underwear, and then her dress and she turned towards him, resting her hand on his face. His eyes were busy feasting on her, but she stayed like that until his eyes met hers. Whatever he saw in her eyes had him take a steadying breath and step towards her. His arms wrapped around her as if to shield her from all harm and his chin rested at the crown of her head, rubbing against it for a moment.

“Until there’s a reason we should worry, we shouldn’t worry, right?” She said, her voice quiet. She was using his own words back at him. Once he’d used when she’d first panicked over their relationship. It wasn’t quite the same, but the message was. She heard his rough chuckle and he stepped back, his hands holding her shoulders as he looked at her.

“Yes,” he agreed after a moment. “However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ensure your safety, love. I will not put you at risk as I did on New Years.”

“You couldn’t have known he would pull something like he did.”

“I knew his nature. I should have.”

She slipped her hands along his arms until she found his own, and stepped back just a bit to look up at him. She searched his eyes for a long moment, coming to a conclusion. She could tell him that what had happened wasn’t his fault until she was blue in the face. It wouldn’t do any good, because he’d always blame himself a little for that reason. He knew Titian and she hadn’t. She gave his hands a tender squeeze and pressed up onto her toes, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

She wouldn’t argue with him over this, she decided as she dropped back to her heels, looking up at him, still.

“Are we calling Pan to help with my hair and makeup again, tonight, or am I going out like this?”

The change of subject told him that she wouldn’t press the matter, and he grinned, then shook his head.

“I thought we’d try something different, this evening. A glamour. In part because it will leave them wondering what you’re hiding -” He stopped himself before he said anything else and a smile curved her lips at the sparkle she saw in his eyes.

“In part because it’ll hide whatever spell you’re putting on me to protect me?”

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes when she called him on it. Then, a smile curved his lips that was masculine pleasure and a bit of pride. His forehead came to rest against hers and he chuckled, trailing a finger up her arm. “You’ve got more enchantments and spells on your dress alone than they’d expect. Not to protect you. I know you’re already aware of some of them.”

“And the ones on my shoes,” she teased, smiling back at him.

“And your shoes,” he agreed, his eyes brilliant in his amusement. “No point in attending a function like this if you’re in pain and unable to enjoy yourself as a result. But, yes, also so they can’t see if I’ve put a spell on you to protect you - because they will be checking, this time. To be honest, it’s something I should have been doing from the start.”

Some of the humor died, his face growing increasingly serious.

She nodded her head in understanding, lifting a hand and brushing her fingers over his face. He relaxed, and his lips brushed against her forehead. As they stood like that, the scent of a summer storm filled the air around them, and she breathed the scent of his magic deeply. She could almost feel the crackle in the air around them.

It was over in less than a moment, and when he stepped back he started looking her over, as if checking for problems with the glamour. When he reached her face, his pupils dilated very quickly, and his brows raised in shock. Confused, she turned and looked at herself in the mirror. It took her a moment to realize what had startled him.

Dark marks from the corners of her eyes, small ones, but too dramatic to be makeup. Her skin seemed luminous, more than when the shimmer would be applied to her. Her breath caught and she stared at herself in surprise.

“That is not expected…” he said, his voice low and quiet.

She turned and looked back up at him with wide eyes. “What do you mean this ‘isn’t expected’?” She asked, taking his hands and reading the depth of confusion in his eyes.

Rather than answer, he turned them both towards the mirror and looked at her reflection in it for a long time. There was something pensive forming in his eyes as they looked at her feral, fae-like features. Pensive and yearning.

“I had intended to ensure your hair and make-up was suited for the event, Sarah. Not to make you look like one of us. I don’t understand why this happened."

“Do you want to change it so it’s what you intended?” She looked at his face in the mirror, watched his expression grow soft, that yearning sharper.

“I don’t think I do, love,” he said after a moment’s consideration. His eyes met hers and his hands slid down her arms until he took her own.

She couldn’t blame him for that. Pan made her look ethereal, but she’d always looked human after. Right now, she didn’t look human at all. The two of them looked like a matched set. It sent a surge of possessiveness through her and she took a deep breath, turning away from the mirror until she faced him.

“Then let them wonder,” she said, giving him a wild smile.

He bared his teeth in a sharp smile and she saw the pleasure in his eyes before he leaned down and caught her lips. She would have happily lost herself in it, but he drew back a moment later. He still had that smile on his face, and she grinned back up at him in return. Then, he stepped back and set about getting ready. She took that moment to appreciate the clothing he’d picked out for himself, this time.

His shirt and cravat were the same pale gold as her gown, with a burnished gold frock coat over that. His breeches were dark brown, with matching boots, and brown leather gloves. She blinked, somewhat perplexed, because that was a deviation from tradition for him, but she didn’t question it. Once he was dressed, he shook himself and she noted gold dust in his hair and he gave her a grin when he noticed her devouring him with her eyes.

“I rather like the look you’ve got in your eyes, precious thing,” he said, his voice low and dark with promise as he stepped towards her. She stepped towards him as well, meeting his gaze as she met his challenge with her own. His pupils dilated and his grin only grew wider.

“I’m sure you do, lover, however we’ve got an event to attend and if we even started on all the promises you’re making with your eyes, we won’t make it at all, never mind being ‘fashionably late’,” she said, feeling a smile pull at her own lips. Then, she set her hand on his, tearing her gaze from his to try for some focus.

“A valid point, love,” he admitted, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss on the inside of her wrist. He paused, holding it there for a moment before lowering it while his other hand came to touch her face. His thumb stroked her cheek for a moment and she could see that he was fighting a battle with himself. “Us missing this would mean that you wouldn’t be placed in potential danger. And I want you safe.”

“It would also reflect badly on you and the Goblin Kingdom, Jareth,” she said, her voice quiet. She squeezed his hand and took a steadying breath. “You’ve protected me, already, yes? So nothing will happen to me.”

He exhaled, long and slow, and finally nodded his head, agreeing with her statement. “You’re right, of course. I’m just trying to decide how much of a damn I give about my reputation.” He shook his head, as if to chase the thoughts away before he lifted his eyes and looked at her again. “Silver linings, I suppose. My parents will be in attendance. So if anything does happen, it will inevitably explode in Titian’s face.”

Knowing that did much to help her relax, and she smiled up at him. A little mischief filled her as an idea came to mind for how to distract him from his worries for a brief time. He must have seen it, because his eyebrow arched and speculative interest filled his eyes.

“So, how much time do we have before we’re ‘fashionably late’, my lover?”

“About fifteen minutes. I thought I’d thought to take you for a tour of the castle during that time,” he looked at her, a bemused smile curving his lips.

“I’ve got a much better idea for how we could pass the time,” she said, her lips twitching at the interest she saw and she stepped towards him, drawing him down into a scorching kiss.

As they walked to the ballroom, she thought he’d heartily approved of her idea for passing the time, even if they were just a bit more late than would be fashionable. He didn’t seem to give a whit about that. As they walked, he stood even closer than he had at Imbolc, his hand resting low on her back as his other hand held the one closest to him. The nearness thrilled her, and she knew he was quietly advertising his possessiveness towards her and the change in her status. She wasn’t certain if that was an announcement or a warning to those who would try to do something to her.

After all, if the Goblin King lashed out when someone attacked his lower, how would he react if someone attacked his intended bride.

Their entrance into the ballroom was noted, and she could see the reaction to change in how he escorted her. There were startled whispers about her appearance when she lifted her face to meet their gazes. Guests moved out of their way, as if something about seeing a mortal woman wearing the face of the fae unnerved them.

As far Sarah was concerned, their fear slanted the odds in her favor. More than any other time she’d been here, she was an unknown quantity. Before, she was just his mortal lover, an entertainment, amusement, plaything. Now they were starting to recognize their mistake. She was standing here at his side, as his equal, and he was letting everyone here know it.

Jareth escorted her to the dais to meet the hosting King and Queen, who were looking out over the throngs of party goers with disinterest in each other and the event. When they stopped, Jareth bowed and she sank into a curtsy at his side. When she straightened, she found that neither the king nor the queen were looking at them with the warm welcome that Nuada and Boann had given at Imbolc. In fact, Sarah thought she saw outright hatred in the king’s eyes.

“King Jareth,” the other king sneered at her king and she felt herself bristle. “I’d heard you were bringing a human female to these functions, but I hadn’t quite believed that it was true until now. A king, taking a common mortal to royal fae functions? Does your arrogance and idiocy know no bounds?”

Jareth gave her his attention, as opposed to rising to the baiting of the man who looked at least twenty years older than him. “My dear Sarah, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to King Oberon and his Queen, Titania. They are the mother and father of someone you’ve been acquainted with in the Underground, already.”

She looked at Jareth, lifting a brow in askance.

“Prince Titian.”

She turned her gaze towards them, remembering the misery that Titian had decided she deserved for an insult she hadn’t even given intentionally. A ‘mean tempered charm’, Jareth had called it before. She understood, now, why they were particularly displeased with her presence here, this evening. The same cold smile that she used on her ex-boyfriends curved her lips and when she spoke, her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“My pleasure, your majesties.”

Oberon stood, moving towards him, a sneer on his lips. “It’s my understanding that my son’s unfortunate situation is your doing, Lady.”

The word was thrown out as an insult, and Sarah saw Jareth tense as though he intended to step between her and Oberon. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, trying to warn him without words that he shouldn’t, not now. She had a moment to feel grateful that he didn’t even take a half-step.

“I’m afraid that whatever happened at the ball on New Years Eve is still a little fuzzy on my part,” she said, keeping her tone cold. “Between the lust charm he placed on me and the attempted spellbinding that he forced on me while I was away from my lover, I still don’t remember everything that happened. However, given that his queen was the host of the party, I fail to see how his transgressions are my fault.”

There was rage in the king’s gaze, now, and he stepped towards her again, aggression in his movement. He reminded her, in that moment, of Tommy, and she sneered at him, squaring her shoulders and taking a step towards him as well.

“Titian was pissed off, because I drew Jareth’s attention from his queen, and he viewed that as an insult. If my presence here is an insult to you, I assure you that Jareth and I have no problem leaving and finding far better things to do with our time, tonight.”

“My future queen has spoken, Oberon,” Jareth said as he stepped up to her side, leveling a look of cold courtesy at Oberon. “You can either deal with her presence or your own insult against her will be noted by the Goblin Kingdom.”

The words “future queen” seemed to shock the other king, and it knocked the wind from Oberon’s sails. He turned towards Jareth, snarling. “You can slap a glamour on her and pretend she’s one of us if you wish. But she will never -”

“If you’re quite done verbally taking a piss on my son and his Lady, Oberon.”

Nuada’s voice behind them was dry as a desert and Sarah gave a half-turn, finding the king and queen of Mag Mell standing there a few steps behind them at the dais. They were resplendent in silver, dressed to match. Nuada gave them both a short bow before approaching with his own queen. Sarah dipped into a curtsy before them, and Boann came forward, taking her hands and bussing both of her cheeks with a kiss.

"You’re a vision tonight, Sarah,” Boann said, her expression shining like the sun. “I was hoping we’d get to see you this evening. Jareth said you’d be in attendance.”

Boann didn’t even give Oberon or Titania her attention, she snaked an arm through Sarah’s and drew her down the stairs, leaving Jareth and Nuada on the dais to deal with Oberon and his temper.

“I see what Jareth meant that functions in Tir na Nog weren’t to be missed,” Sarah said, keeping her tone as dry as she could, smothering her temper. She accepted the glass of champagne that Boann handed to her and looked at the queen with a smile.

Boann shrugged, smiling at her. “Titian ran home to his mommy and daddy to lick his wounds. Most of the courts realize that his punishment was entirely justified, however the queen’s punishment was by far more harsh than Jareth’s. His was a simple physical punishment. Georgine is divorcing him.”

“I didn’t realize that divorce was something that occurred in the Underground,” Sarah said, looking at Jareth’s mother in surprise.

“It’s less messy than arranging to have your spouse murdered over their transgressions,” Boann said with a sharp smile.

“Fair enough,” Sarah choked, glad she didn’t spray champagne out of her mouth at that.

“Jareth’s initial punishment was sufficient as payment for the insult to the Goblin Kingdom. However, Georgine could not allow someone who would harm a guest of her court - a king’s guest no less - to remain at her court. The punishment will be viewed as a warning to all the other courts. Do not give Prince Titian free reign. At this point, he’ll be lucky to marry a noblewoman, but there isn’t a chance in hell that he gets another queen or a princess. And given that Oberon has several sons, there’s no shortage of heirs, so he’s lost any hope he might have had at ruling a kingdom of his own.”

“So, rather than a harsh, brief and painful repayment for his mistake, he essentially ruined his marriage and his own future?”

Boann nodded, looking pleased. There was a sparkle in her eyes that was all mischief when she turned to look back at her. “Jareth is quite smitten with you. He came for a brief visit before Ostara.”

A smile curved Sarah’s lips and she glanced up the stairs towards where Jareth stood, her heart pounding in her chest. “I know.”

The queen’s keen gaze found the sparkling ring on her finger and she took her hand, gasping in delight. Sarah looked back and when Boann lifted her gaze to look into hers, Sarah nodded and smiled wider.

“I apologize for how long that particular pissing contest took, love,” Jareth’s voice met her ear and a familiar hand came to rest low on her back. She leaned back into the touch as Nuada came around to Boann’s other side. She saw the king admiring the ring on her finger, as well.

“Oberon always has been a bit of a cunt, son,” Oberon said and Sarah blinked, looking towards the man who looked so like her lover. A sound like steam leaving a kettle escaping her before she managed to lift a hand to smother her laugh.

Jareth cleared his throat, but she thought it sounded like he had a laugh in his chest as well.

“Danu’s ring looks good on your finger, Sarah,” Nuada said, and leaned over, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. “Welcome to the family, dear girl. Do keep this son of mine out of trouble, hmm?”

Sarah gave Jareth her most mystified look, even as she felt a grin pulling her at her lips. “Where on earth is the fun in that?” She asked, looking back at Nuada.

This time, a laugh did leave her king, echoed by one sputtering from Boann. Jareth gave her a wide smile and squeezed her against his side. Nuada had a hand lifted to hide his own smile.

“I did tell you she’d make a fine Goblin Queen.”

"So I see. I do hope we’ll see you both later this evening. However, I want a dance with my queen, if she’ll kindly oblige me?”

Boann rolled her eyes and then gave Sarah’s hand a parting squeeze. “Enjoy your evening.”

“I like your parents, Jareth,” Sarah said with a bemused smile as she watched them walk away.

“What a coincidence, I find I like yours as well. But they’re right. Let’s get away from the Dais and have a turn on the dance floor. Before Oberon figures out that my father called him a cunt.”

"Lets.” She smiled up at him and took his hand, knowing her heart was in her eyes. Once they were lost among the dancers, Jareth leaned close to her, his lips brushing against her ear. “You were right to stop me from punching Oberon. Relations between the Goblin Kingdom and Tir na Nog have always been delicate. The last thing we need is a personal situation causing political problems."

“At least now I can see why Titian is as twisted as he ended up,” she said, meeting Jareth’s gaze. She squeezed the hand that held her own, grinning at him. “I get the distinct impression that he wasn’t handled with the same firmness when you misstepped as a youth?”

“I can almost guarantee that, love.”

She grinned at him, and he stepped closer to her, his lips so near to her, she could feel the way his breath stirred the hairs on her cheek. A shiver worked its way up her back and she closed her eyes, leaning into him and enjoying the warmth of him pressed against her.

At first, the evening seemed like it would be quiet for the most part, even after the initial fireworks. As the evening wore on, however, she noted Titian seeming to follow them around the dancefloor, staring at she and her lover with malevolence in his gaze. She brought it to Jareth’s attention and he made a concerted effort to move them out of his line of sight whenever she noticed him.

“I think he’s planning something,” she said, keeping her voice quiet, not wanting to cause unnecessary alarm. But she couldn’t help the nerves that she felt. Titian’s first and second impressions had been unpleasant. She wasn’t certain she’d ever feel comfortable knowing the bastard was nearby as a result.

“I’ve no doubt. We’ll keep an eye out. I’ve no intention of letting him lurk us out of this party, however. For now, Sarah-mine, just keep your eyes on me.”

She nodded, resting her forehead against her king’s chest, a sigh gusting out of her. As if it was hard to keep her eyes on him. He was as beautiful now, as he’d been standing in her parents bedroom when she was fifteen. After about another hour of Jareth turning her on the floor, he escorted her to a quiet corner table so she could eat and have some water. They talked and laughed while they sat there, and Jareth pointed out several noblemen and women who, in his opinion, would be well served with a visit to the Bog of Eternal Stench.

After the light meal, Jareth was getting ready to whisk her off to the dance floor, again, when Sarah saw Titian standing far closer than she felt comfortable with. She froze, gripping Jareth’s hand and looking in the other man’s direction, feeling like ice water had been dumped over her.

Jareth immediately put himself between her and Titian, which she appreciated. At first.

However, Titian started to approach them, his posture aggressive, expression one of undisguised malevolence and Sarah saw a crystal form in his hands as he walked towards them. That was when Sarah realized that he didn’t care which of them he hurt. She knew Jareth must have seen it as well, but he removed to move from between them.

“ _No!_ ”

The scream was ripped from her chest as that orb was shoved against Jareth’s. Her lover snarled, flinched and staggered back a step into her. But he refused to step even an inch out of the way from in front of her. Then, a cough escaped him and she saw red drops of blood splatter on Titian’s face. She caught her lover as his knees started to give out and she eased him to the floor, looking down into his eyes, seeing the pain in them.

“Jareth?! What’s wrong?! What did he do?!” She gasped the words, holding him tight to her chest.  
A crowd was starting to gather around them, but she had no eyes for the people standing there. Jareth snarled up at Titian, blood on his lips, but he didn’t answer her. Then, his strength seemed to fail, and he sagged in her arms, his eyes closing.

“Jareth?!” She heard Boann’s voice gasp and looked, seeing the king and queen rush towards her, dropping to the floor at her side, near their son. Oberon and Titania approached at a far more sedate pace.

“What is this infernal racket,” Oberon asked, sounding bored as he and Titania flanked their son, their support of the spoiled brat clear.

Nuada and Boann pulled Jareth from her arms and Sarah felt some pulsing hot feeling start to surge through her as she rose to her feet. Rage burned through her so hot it hurt. The revellers around them that could see her face staggered back several paces. She turned her gaze towards Titian, and whatever Titania saw in her eyes must have frightened her. She grabbed Oberon’s eyes, dragging him back several steps away from their son. When Oberon looked at her, there was shock and something very close to fear in his gaze.

Good.

Titian snarled at her, still close enough she could grab him.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him, I wanted to hurt you! This is all your fault, anyways!”

That white-hot feeling burned up through her, starting where her feet touched the opulent floor. She took a slow step towards Titian. When she spoke, she didn’t even recognize her own voice for all the rage in it.

“What did you do to him?!” The sound seemed to echo in the space, louder than it should have been, but she didn’t understand or care why that might be.

“He should have moved out of the way and let me put that spell on _you_ , you stupid _mortal BITCH_!”

The rage that bubbled up through her cleared her head of distractions. She curled her hands into fists, feeling her nails bite into her palms. She took another step towards Titian. Something smelled like fire or brimstone, but she couldn’t have said where that smell was coming from. She just felt hot, and wondered if her own rage was burning the world around her.

“I’m going to ask you one last time, Titian. I suggest you answer me. What did you _do_ to _my king_?!” Her hand shot out, and she grabbed Titian by the collar of his frock coat. She noticed that her skin seemed brighter than before, but she couldn’t afford to be distracted, right now. She met Titian’s dark gaze with her furious one, and for the first time that night, Titian’s anger finally gave way to fear.

“The Blessing of _ANKOU_!” He snarled at her, fighting her grip on his coat.

“Stars,” Nuada snarled from behind her. “That’s death magic, you fool!”

Sarah’s eyes jerked towards Nuada, feeling grief tangling with her rage. When she looked back at Titian, he had a nasty smile on his face again, as if revelling in her pain. Her hand tightened on his collar, and she realized he wasn’t on the ground anymore. That rage seemed to pulse through her and when she heaved, she blasted Titian back into one of the pillars not far away. He struck it with some force, and then slid down, sprawled on the floor, staring up at her with shock.

“If Jareth dies from whatever you did to him, you’ll die the same day,” she said, her rage so strong that she didn’t think before the words flowed past her lips. Her words echoed in the space around them, and there was a frightened gasp from Titania, who shook her head in fear.

Then, a series of coughs drew her attention and she turned, seeing Jareth in a half-seated position. He coughed again, wiping the blood from his lips. His face was pale and waxen in appearance, but he was upright, and didn’t quite look like he was on death’s door any longer. His blue eyes lifted to her face and her relief at seeing them knocked the edge off her anger.

“Pretty words, precious thing, but you should be careful about how you use them in the Underground,” he said, and his voice sounded rough with pain. Still, he rose to his feet with a wince and walked towards her. She stared at him, all the rage that had been building evaporating. When he reached her side, she wrapped her arms around him, to help him keep his feet, worried he’d fall again.

He turned his attention to Titian, rather than her, letting the other man see him standing. Then, he gave another, forceful cough, and this time, she saw a crystal come up. Some blood splattered the smooth surface, but he lifted it, and gave Titian a look of dark amusement as the other man stared at it in shock.

“Cute death spell,” Jareth said, and then he rolled the crystal until it came to rest on his fingertips. Then, he lifted the orb to his lips and blew it into the air, where it burst. The intent of the spell hung in the air, clear to the others in the room before it faded, and Jareth waved a hand through it, clearing the last of the smoke.

She swallowed hard, feeling the prick of tears in her eyes. She turned her face against Jareth’s coat, even as one of his hands smoothed over her back in a soothing caress. She could hear Nuada and Boann coming to join them, even as Oberon and Titania flanked their own son, again.

“Titian, we were in courts together long enough,” Jareth said, with a tone so cold it made almost everyone nearby shiver. “You should know that there are very few of your tricks that I haven’t seen or don’t know. This was a juvenile trick to play and disrespectful to do at your father’s court.”

“That bitch cast a death spell, too,” Oberon snarled, pointing at Sarah in his rage.

“Which will come to nothing, in the end,” Boann snarled back, and Sarah was surprised to see the anger in Boann’s face similar to the anger in Jareth’s. “Since my son is alive and well, no thanks to you.”

“And if he hadn’t been, the punishment Lady Sarah had demanded would have been well deserved.” Nuada’s voice was smooth and cold as Boann’s.

Sarah lifted her head from Jareth’s frock coat, looking at Oberon, narrowing her eyes at him, letting him see the rage that wasn’t quite gone.

Oberon stumbled back a half-step when he looked at her.

The crowd dispersed, Titian was escorted from the room by his parents. As the danger passed, she felt like the room was starting to dance around her. Her grip on her lover tightened and she gave the quietest whimper, trying to keep her feet. The grip on her waist grew tighter, supporting her, and blue eyes met hers.

“Sarah?”

She felt empty, scrubbed out and raw. She ached all over and had no idea why. Her head fell forward against Jareth’s chest, and she clung to him, trying to stay present. Heat started to surge up through her again, but this time, without the rage, it just burned, hurt and she whimpered again.

“Jareth, is she alright?”

Boann sounded alarmed, and she felt other hands trying to support her.

“She drew up power in her temper. She’s never done that before, I hadn’t even begun to teach her how she might do that,” Jareth said, sounding alarmed.

“Stars, Jareth, get her out of here. We’ll mop up the rest of the mess.”

That was Nuada, she thought, but the world around her began to change, and she crumpled against Jareth before she saw where he took her.

She came to with a headache that outshone any hangover she’d ever had before in her life. Still, she could tell by the bedding that she was in her apartment, laying on her bed. She was dressed in a chemise and the lovely wool robe Jareth had given to her after New Years. She lifted a trembling hand to her forehead, staring at the ceiling.

“Welcome back, love,” Jareth’s voice was quiet, beside her, and she turned towards the brush of his fingers on her cheek. The concern that she saw there was very different from what she’d seen at Imbolc.

“What happened?” She asked, and she noticed her voice was raw and her throat hurt.  
Jareth took a deep breath, and then released it with a shake of his head. He looked like he was still having problems processing what had happened, himself.

“I had to take you out of the Underground. First, I tried taking you to my castle, but you weren’t getting any better, there. Do you remember the end of the Beltane celebration?”

“I remember being furious,” she admitted. “Everything else is a little hazy.”

He nodded, and pushed a hand through his hair. “You started drawing up power. Since you weren’t taught how to do that, you couldn’t quite stop, even when your mood stabilized.”

“I did what, now?” She asked, staring at him. He gave her a crooked grin, but there was a lot of worry still in his eyes. 

“Magic, love. You drew magic into you and channeled it without training. That’s extremely dangerous. You didn’t realize it, I think, when it happened. I suppose I should have anticipated this, but I didn’t realize -”

“Didn’t realize what?” He turned towards her, and there was something close to an apology in his eyes.

"I didn’t realize that the Underground was starting to change you. I should have, when I saw what the glamour had done to your features.” He found her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You have a knack for making me worry about things that I haven’t even realized I needed to worry about. Did you know that, love?”

She gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand back. “Sorry. Just call it payback for scaring the liver out of me when you took that death spell that was meant for me.”

He gave her a crooked grin of his own.

With a groan, she closed her eyes, nursing the headache. After a moment, she forced herself to scoot over, and pulled at Jareth, until he climbed onto the bed with her. Once he folded his arms around her, she sighed and let herself drift back off to sleep, reassured by the weight of his arm across her waist.


	18. A Second Proposal and A Baby Arrival

Jareth kept her in the Above, watching over her as she recovered from what he called a “power flare”. He seldom left her side, and when he did, he left Pan to keep watch over her. It took a few days before she regained her equilibrium, after which her lover spent the next several weeks teaching her how to not draw power from the land without meaning to. She still had occasional problems with it, especially when her passions ran high or she got distracted.

When he finally brought her back, they both discovered that on that side of the veil, her features weren’t human any longer. She had the face of a fae woman.

Her fiance hasn't explained that, yet. He stated he was still doing research on the matter the last time she’d been there. She knew he’d keep working on it until he had an answer, so she decided she shouldn’t worry about it. She had other concerns. Her commencement was rapidly approaching and thanks to Jareth’s assistance with her studies, she passed her exams with flying colors.

Her studies, however, were far from over, and she knew it. Once her exams were completed in her world, Jareth took her back to the Underground, where she spent hours pouring over what she’d need to know so she could help him rule his kingdom. Her education would end up being far more abridged than Jareth’s had been, and she knew it. So she took every advantage she could get.

She ended up spending a great deal of time with Boann, who had thought that if she was taught entirely by her lover, the necessary studies would be set aside too often.

She needn’t have worried.

After spending a weekend in the library with Sarah and Jareth, the former Goblin Queen had decided that it was okay to step back. She’d watched the two work together, sorting correspondence, and when they were focused on their work, nothing could break it. They’d only got distracted once, during a meal break Sarah had to remind Jareth to take. After that weekend, Boann told them she’d be leaving the kingdom for a while, and would return to check in at a later date. When Sarah asked her why, the other queen laughed and stated there was no need at all for her to interfere. She had seen how seriously that both Sarah and Jareth were taking her training, so she didn’t think she’d need to worry.

Boann and Nuada came around once a week, instead, checking in with them to make sure that they weren’t slacking, and getting to know their future daughter in law better.

When her commencement rolled around, Jareth took her shopping for a dress and found one that pleased them both. It was a simple navy blue dress with a knee length skirt, trimmed in white. She let him spoil her with some simple diamond solitaire earrings as a present for her achievement.

He walked with her to the auditorium, and before she went inside, he drew her close, giving her a lingering kiss, playing with her left hand. She felt him slip her ring off and drew back enough to give him a curious look. He just gave her a broad, mischievous grin and a wink.

“I’ll return this to you, later.”

She watched him walk away, bemused and suspecting that her lover was planning something, but not having any idea what. He was always planning something, it seemed. Most of the time, it ended up well enough for her, so she didn’t object. Her lips curved as she watched him disappear into the crowd, and she headed towards the group of people who had finished their degrees as well.

Tommy was conspicuously absent, but she didn’t bother dwelling on him.

She got her robes and mortar board situated, setting her tassel in place. The other, newly minted doctors chatted quietly, waiting for the ceremony to start. They lined up and walked in to accept their certificates when their names were called, and she accepted hers with pride.

Once the final name was called, and the ceremony ended, she and the others stood with their professors for a photograph to commemorate the occasion. Afterwards, she stood there, talking with her teachers, smiling and laughing, feeling happier than she could remember in her life - with one exception. That thought drew a smile to her lips as she remembered Jareth’s response to her confession.

“I do hope you’re considering the position the school offered you, Dr. Williams,” one of the professors said, their voice sincere.

Sarah smiled back at the short professor, biting her lower lip. “I’m still thinking about it. I’ve been in school for so long, it might be nice to take a bit of a break before I dive in, headfirst.”

Besides, she had a feeling that he’d have her hands full with queen training for her new position in the Underground, and that was going to be a long time. She wasn’t certain she wanted a job of herding teenagers who had just graduated high school in addition to trying to herd goblins.

“Sarah!”

She turned from the teachers and saw her family heading towards her. Her father and Irene held roses for her, and Toby was grinning from ear to ear, holding Matt and Emily with practiced ease. Mariah stood at his side, looking tired, but smiling at her as well. Her heart stumbled and landed in a heap when she saw Jareth behind them a look of pure mischief in his eyes.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” her father said, giving her a kiss on the forehead as he gave her the rose. Irene wrapped her in a tight hug, giving her kisses on both cheeks and smiling.

“We’re so proud of you.”

“So, does that mean I have to call you Dr. Williams, now?” Toby asked, grinning at her, and giving her a bit of an elbow to the ribs.

“Technically, you’ll be calling her Dr. King,” Jareth said, stepping forward, a smug look in his eyes.

Her cheeks flushed red and she looked at him in surprise. He held a bouquet of deep red roses and her heart gave a flutter in her chest. She’d long accepted that he made her stupid heart do things like that. Now that she knew he felt the same about her, she didn’t mind so much.

“What?” Irene looked from Jareth to her.

She accepted the roses from him, her cheeks warm. Then, right in front of her teachers and parents and classmates, Jareth dropped to a knee in front of her, and she realized why he needed her ring before the ceremony. She looked down at him in mute surprise, her heart warming as she recognized the consideration that he was giving her family. Tears pricked her eyes and she bit her lip, looking at him in exasperation.

“Dr. Sarah Williams,” he said, his voice serious even with the bright mischief in his eyes. “Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

You fraud, she thought, watching as he brought the jewelers box out and flipped it open, showing the ring he’d already given her once. She bit her lower lip, feeling the grin that was pulling on her lips, even as her eyes misted over with tears. She knew she wouldn’t be able to give the answer with a straight face, so she buried her face against the roses and nodded, extending her hand to him. He gave her fingers a squeeze and she saw his cheek twitch with restrained laughter.

“Yes,” she finally said, keeping her face pressed against the flowers as he slipped the ring over her finger, again. Where it belonged. She’d never admit it, but her finger had felt naked without its weight.

Jareth was getting to his feet when an unwelcome voice broke through her joy.

“Well, well. I guess global warming is real,” Tommy sneered from nearby. “Someone finally managed to melt that frigid bitch.”

Tommy must not have realized who the people standing near her were, or that her father could hear him as clearly as she could.

Robert Williams’s eyes darkened in temper and he turned on his heel and punched Tommy in the face so hard that the young man staggered back, clutching his nose. Sometimes, Sarah forgot that her father was just that - a father, and he wouldn’t take someone talking like that about his daughter.”

Jareth stood beside her, watching the scene play out with something between delight and dismay. “I don’t know if I’m upset that I’m not the one who got to defend your honor or pleased because watching your father punch that pathetic little shitgibbon is extremely satisfying.”

“Same,” Sarah admitted, holding Jareth’s hand and watching as her father straightened.

The older man gave his hand a brief shake, and stood towering over the man, scowling down at him. Tommy just held his cheek, staring at him in stunned rage.

“That’s the last time anyone better ever hear you call my daughter a bitch, you pathetic waste of resources,” Robert snarled, a furious look on his face. “Because if I ever find out about it, the defamation suit I’ll slap you with will make sure you don’t ever show your face in public again.”

Tommy scrambled to his feet, glaring at Robert with a dark look on his face.

“I’ll have my parents sue you for assault!”

Robert whipped out his wallet, pulling out his business card and Sarah released a snort she knew everyone standing in the area heard. She knew what that card said. It was the one he usually handed out at his office, in response to people who threatened to sue him.

Jareth just gave her a perplexed look. Her father side-eyed her as he handed the card to Tommy.

Robert D. Williams | Litigation | (xxx)xxx-xxxx

Tommy looked from the card up to the silver-haired Robert Williams who was still looking down the bridge of his nose at him.

“Do tell your parents that I’ll be glad to see them in court,” he said, then her father turned to find them all looking at him with wide-eyed surprise. He hesitated for only a moment, and then slipped his arm around Irene’s waist. “No one gets to talk about my daughters like that. And if you don’t intend to put him in his place, Sarah, I’ll be happy to do it for you.”

Irene was looking up at Robert, almost star-struck, and then she cleared her throat and blushed a little.

“Daughters, huh?” Sarah said, grinning at Mariah, who gave a smile and hid her face.

“Damn right,” Robert said, smiling at Mariah.

“Why don’t we go to dinner. We’ve got much to celebrate, today,” Jareth said, and Sarah thought he was celebrating getting to see Tommy get punched in the face as much as everything else. She didn’t disagree on that account.

Toby coughed, and leaned over giving his wife a quick kiss. “What do you think? You up for it?”

Sarah lifted a brow, a smile curving her lips as Mariah nodded in agreement.

Jareth slipped an arm around her waist, giving her a deeply satisfied grin as they headed towards the parking lot. “It looks like Toby is finally stepping up a bit.”

“You were a good influence on him during Easter weekend,” Sarah admitted. “Honestly, it’s a relief to see.”

As usual, Jareth used whatever talents he typically employed to get them a table at a heavily sought after venue not far from the university. It was fairly packed with new graduates, but the host seemed pleased and surprised to have a new doctor gracing their facility. They ended up at an excellent table, and Jareth told everyone the meal was on him, so they should order whatever they fancied.

Sarah managed to snag the wine menu from her little brother’s hand, shooting him a wry smirk. “You’re not twenty one, yet, kid. And since your wife can’t drink, neither can you.”

Jareth gave a rough laugh, while Toby sulked a little. Mariah teased him about it, before the women at the table turned their attention to Sarah’s ring. They were as awestruck over it as she still was. The design was breathtaking, and she’d never seen a ring like it.

“So you got her a ruby in her engagement ring?” Toby asked, leaning over to get a better look at it, frowning a bit. “I thought diamonds were traditional.”

“First, traditional doesn’t suit me or Sarah very well. Second, that isn’t a ruby.” Jareth leaned back in his chair, grinning and putting an arm around her shoulders. He didn’t offer further information, and she hadn’t asked, so she just gave him a look of confusion.

Irene, on the other hand, knew gemstones. She nodded in agreement, turning the ring in the light. “Rubies aren’t that clear, Toby. They’re usually a little milky in color when they’re natural. Judging by the lustre and sparkle, I’d say that’s a diamond. With an excellent cut and clarity at that.”

“You have an excellent eye, Irene,” Jareth said, nodding in agreement. His expression was one of pleased approval.

She looked at Jareth in surprise. They hadn’t discussed the ring, because Sarah was just happy to have the symbol of what it meant on her finger. “You didn’t tell me that.”

He grinned at her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Irene and Mariah looking at them in stunned surprise. Robert had crept around to get a better look at the ring, now, too.

“That’s a red diamond in the center, love. The surrounding stones are white and pink diamond. It was my grandmothers, and I liked it better than any of the traditional rings. It has character.”

She looked at the ring on her finger and her chest got a little tight. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “It had to be. Anything less, and it wouldn’t even be noticeable on your finger. No one would be able to see it and understand what it meant.”

Toby made a quiet gagging noise nearby and she aimed her shoe and nailed her little brother right in the shin, all without looking away from her lover. When the young man yelped, mirth filled her lover's eyes and he grinned broadly at her, leaning close. 

“So cruel, love.”

After their lovely dinner, they parted ways with her parents and brother’s family. As they walked back to her apartment, she kept toying with the ring on her finger, looking down at it and smiling. They’d walked for some time, before she turned to look up at him.

“Thank you for that. I think them getting to see you propose meant a lot to them,” she said, her voice thick with emotions she couldn’t even begin to express.

“I had an inkling that it might, Sarah-mine,” he said, smiling at her. “Your family loves you. There is no way I could deprive them of the joy of getting to see you married here, by your own laws and customs.”

She lifted her eyes, looking up at him and smiling. “This is why it had to be you, I think. I couldn’t fall in love with anyone else. You’re the only one that loves me so much to consider the feelings of my family, too. You’re selfish and you’re a bully, but you’d move the world to make me happy.”

“Given your expectations, yes, I suspect that’s true.” He paused for a moment, then he wrapped an arm around her waist, walking through the early summer evening. He let out a gusty sigh, and looked up at the purple-hued sky. “I understand what is happening to you, now. Why when you come to the Underground, you wear the face of fae.”

She paused, looking up at him, slipping her arm around his waist. “Am I fae-touched?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. You were already fae-touched from your first trip to the Labyrinth. At first I wasn’t certain if it was because of our relationship, or the length of time you spent there rewriting your dissertation. I tore through my library, trying to find the answers. It isn’t from any of that. The land recognizes you as it’s queen, and it’s changing you accordingly. You’re not quite human anymore. You’re becoming fae, with every minute you spend in my world.”

She walked alongside him, thinking about this for a long moment. Jareth didn’t continue, giving her time to absorb all of that. “How will this affect me, here?”

He gave a bit of a nod, squeezing her against his side. “If you decide you’re going to stay above, and split your life between here and there, then you’ll live a far longer than average life. Not as long as a faerie creature would, here, but longer than most humans ever can dream to live. When you passed on, your soul would cross the veil and join me. If you wished.”

She gave him a pinch, and he yelped, looking at her in surprise.

“And what if I want to stay with you?”

Hunger in his eyes that went deeper than she’d ever seen, before. He stopped, looking at her for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was reserved, as if he were doing his best to hide his own feelings so she wouldn’t weigh them into her decision.

“If you chose to stay with me in the Underground, you’d eventually cease to be mortal, altogether. I can’t lie and say that wouldn’t please me. But I can’t say that you wouldn’t lose everything you’ve built here, either.” Her lover lowered his gaze, not looking at her for a long moment. “I don’t wish for you to regret the life we build together. So I will never ask you to make such a choice unless you are completely certain. If that means waiting for you to finish living a mortal life in the Above, then so be it. I can still be with you when you’re here. I’ll not leave you by choice.”

She gave him a shining smile, taking his hands and giving them a squeeze. “You’d miss taking naps on my couch, too, and the peace you get, here.”

“As a point in fact, I would,” he said with a rough laugh. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head and holding her close. “And we’d both miss getting a good night of rest by grace of being away from the goblin city. When you’re officially queen, you’ll start feeling the call when a wish happens, even here. Maybe we can take turns on who goes ‘on duty’, those times.”

The tease made her laugh, and she opened her mouth to answer him, but something else caught her attention. Surprise and panic, but it wasn’t hers. A cry that was in her head, but not her ears. She sucked in a sharp breath, looking up at her lover, her hands clinging to his sleeves as that punch of emotion almost brought her to her knees.

“Sarah?! What’s wrong?!”

“Mariah,” she said, taking a steadying breath. She gave herself a moment, lifting her eyes to look at her lover. “Her water broke, she’s in labor.”

Jareth looked at her in surprise, and swore with quiet precision. The next thing she knew, they were in her apartment and her phone seemed to be blowing up from the frantic ringing. Sarah threw off her graduation robes as she grabbed her phone.

“What’s wrong?!” She gasped.

She held the phone, listening to her brother sounding like he was in a complete panic. She made out that it was still before Mariah’s due date, and they didn’t have their bag for the hospital. They were still at the airport, they didn’t have a doctor here, didn’t know where to go. Their parents had dropped them off minutes ago, but they couldn’t reach them now.

Sarah spent several minutes calming her panicking brother, and then looked at her lover and king, taking a deep breath. “Jareth, I’m going to need you to work some magic.”

“Tell your brother you’ll meet him at the airport shortly. I’ll drive you, and work on getting a hold of your parents before they get too far.” He grabbed some keys, and she took a deep breath, nodding her head, and when he took her hand, she gave his a tight squeeze. She relayed the message to her brother, as they headed down the stairs.

Down there, they found a sleek, two door sports car that was familiar. Jareth gave her a grin and a wink, before holding the door open for her. “I’ll pick up some necessities for them, as well. You ride with them to the hospital, alright?”

She nodded her head, as they rode to the airport. Jareth created a crystal, and chucked it out the car window as they drove, and she glanced over, seeing a mischief of goblins heading off into the night.

“They aren’t going to cause too much trouble, right?” She asked, looking at him.

“They’re going to make certain your parents don’t get too far. So, I suppose too much is relative in this instance. No one will come to harm, human or goblin. Don’t worry your head over that.”

She nodded her head, trying to steady herself as Jareth dropped her off at the airport. He blew her a kiss as she hopped out at the terminal, and sped off into the night, to go do what needed done. She headed inside, finding medical staff surrounding Mariah, and she hurried over. “I’m her sister in law, they were here to see me.”

Once she was at her brother’s side, she gave him a shake. “Get it together, Toby Williams. I know your doctor isn’t local, but we’ve got to get her to a hospital, now. Jareth is trying to reach our parents. He’ll get them to the hospital. Just relax, and let's take care of her.”

Mariah gave her a grateful look as she calmed her brother down, and the EMTs loaded her into the ambulance. She pushed her brother in after her, and climbed in, too, squeezing herself into a narrow corner, keeping near her sister in law’s head, keeping both of the children calm and quiet.

It was cramped, but the medics didn’t need to be in the back of the vehicle with them. “It’s going to be fine,” she said to her brother and sister in law, and hoped that she was right.

Jareth beat them to the hospital, through magical means she suspected. He was on a cell phone, speaking with her parents when they arrived, with an overnight bag thrown over his shoulder, which he handed to Toby as her brother passed him. He gave Mariah a grin and wink.

“So, I guess the tyke decided they couldn’t wait.”

She gave him a shaky smile. “Don’t suppose you’ve got some magic to delay this in your pockets?”

A laugh escaped him and he shook his head.

“That would be some trick to manage,” he said, as the emts wheeled her away. Once Toby and Mariah were out of sight, he scooped up Matt, and gave Sarah an amused look. “So, when did you spill my little secret?”

Sarah and Jareth walked the floor with the littles, trying to calm the stressed and worried children who wanted their mother and didn’t understand why they couldn’t go to her. Matt clung to Jareth like a baby panda, chewing his fist and whimpering and Emily kept squalling on Sarah’s shoulder.

When Irene and Robert arrived, Robert was on the phone with Mariah’s parents, letting them know what had happened and that they were at the hospital. He seemed frustrated, and more than once, Sarah heard the parents on the line yelling. Irene explained that they’d told Mariah she shouldn’t fly so near her due date, but she and Toby had decided that being at the commencement was important, and it was only for an afternoon. Jareth tapped his shoulder, and leaned close, telling him that if they wanted to fly out, he would arrange flights for them.

They said they did.

The important conversation Jareth and Sarah had been having got pushed to the side for this far more immediate concern. It wasn’t the right time to talk about that, and they both knew it, so while they wanted to continue the discussion, they didn’t. Jareth stayed close to Sarah, minding the children while Sarah’s parents took turns calming Toby and checking on Mariah. 

When Mariah’s parents arrived, Robert and Irene swapped out, letting them spoil their daughter.

Hours went by, with the family group pacing the floor. Eventually, the rest of them started taking turns, swapping out of Mariah’s room so that each person could get some rest. Sarah went in after Jareth, and found Mariah dozing, and her lips twisted in a knowing smile.

The dirty cheat had put a sleep spell on her. That was probably for the best, rest would give her more energy for when the really hard work started. Sarah spent the time she was in there to hold her hand and give whatever positive energy she could to the woman, paying careful attention to how she drew the magic inside of her.

Labor was always risky, even when it was a low risk. There was always a chance that things went sideways. So she didn’t figure any additional help she could offer would be rejected.

By the time Sebastian Williams joined the family, she’d been in labor for thirteen long hours. He had the look of his mother, with kinky dark brown curls and skin that was tawny brown. Jareth stood next to Sarah, while they viewed the newborn through the nursery window. Her lover was wearing a pleased smile that matched her own, and his arm slipped around her waist.

“I’d almost say it’s a pity that she’s not wishing him away,” Jareth said, his lips near her ear when he spoke. “He’d make an excellent goblin.”

She blinked, turning to look up at Jareth in surprise. “What do you mean?”

He gave her a smile, cuddling her close. “Mariah held him and fell in love at first sight. I imagine she’s had that happen with all of her children. Unless she becomes so stressed that she breaks, she’ll keep him.”

“Then I’ll pin Toby to the wall before they leave and make sure that doesn’t happen,” she said, looking at the child through the window, her eyes shining. “Is there anything else we can do for her?”

“I already gave her an open offer from me for free babysitting whenever she needs it,” he said with a grin. “Beyond that, I’m not sure what we could do. Let her get a grip on things in her life before we try to turn her world upside down. She’s a good mother, and Toby is turning into a fine father.”

“A little more of your influence and he’ll be better than ‘fine’. Maybe we should bring him to your castle for a few hours and see if he can manage the goblins? That’s a better trial by fire than any other gauntlet I’ve ever seen,” she teased, and saw mischief and mirth in her lover’s eyes.

“Do you want your parents to find out that you’re engaged to a fae king,” he wondered aloud, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

She blinked, and gave that a serious consideration. Then, she took a deep breath. “Shit. I haven’t worried about that since before Easter. I don’t know.”

“Just let me know when you do,” he said, giving her a warm smile and hugging her against his side, watching the small child taking his first blinks in the world. “He has blue eyes, you know? Just like Toby.”

She smiled, and looked up at him. “Of course he does. You said he’d make a good goblin.”


	19. Royal Coronations and Bending the Rules

After her commencement was over, and Mariah left the hospital to return to her home with Toby, Sarah started spending far more time in the Underground with Jareth. He’d found a way to make certain she could receive important calls in his world, since Irene had started working on planning her wedding. Jareth, with some amusement, had suggested they have a winter wedding, on the eve of the twentieth.

She’d given him a smack for that, but Irene thought that was a lovely idea, and ran with it.

Based on what he’d told her, they’d have to attend a full turn of celebrations after their official wedding, but he wanted them to be able to enjoy some of their time together before being hurled into the Underground’s version of well wishing. He especially didn’t want her to get into a situation where she accidentally drew power again, before she had total control over the new power.

Summer bled into autumn, and as the seasons grew cooler, the Goblin Kingdom seemed to celebrate more than for spring or Summer. Even Jareth seemed to grow more like himself, enjoying the turn of the seasons more since they were going to be celebrating this one from his own kingdom.

After Beltane, he’d refused to attend another of the balls, since Samhain would be held in his own kingdom and he stated they’d need the time to prepare. Especially since it would start on October thirty first, and run through midnight on November first. He’d decided that it would be a masquerade, which she found both appropriate and ironic. Because she was in the Underground with him, she had the pleasure of helping him prepare for the holiday.

Sarah took great pleasure in helping him plan, using ideas she’d pulled from the above. Jareth insisted that if they were going to do webs, they should use proper ones, and she had to admit that cotton fluff didn’t have the same effect. He even made sure there were spiders in them, which weren’t real spiders, but a glamour cast on the web. It was still unsettling to look at.

Sarah also introduced the goblins to the tradition of trick or treating, explained how it worked, and she suspected that Jareth was going to be very unhappy about the number of sugar comaed goblins they’d have on the first. She’d ease him into that particular conversation.

Teaching them about pumpkin carving, however, would always be her happiest memory of the time leading up to Samhain.

They’d gotten to the point where they started scooping the innards of the pumpkins out, and one goblin had figured out the pulpy mush could be thrown. At each other.

Jareth had appeared in the archway to the throne room in the middle of the pulp war. Instead of walking in, fully, he stayed mostly in the shadows, watching the mayhem with a bemused smile on his face. Finding his queen in the center of the mayhem did nothing to diminish his amusement. She was laughing and throwing the pulpy mix with the goblins, covered in it. 

Once the chaos quieted, Sarah watched as he made his way through the room, his steps careful, to avoid getting any of the mess on himself. She lay on the stone ground, giggling, surrounded by goblins that had temporarily exhausted themselves. She looked up at him, watching as he grinned and sat on the ground next to her.

“Having fun, love?”

Mischief filled her as she looked up at him and she reached up, grabbing him by the neckline of his shirt and pulling him into a fierce kiss, tasting the pumpkin that was smeared on her face. He gave a pleased groan, shifting to lean over her, his hand cupping her pulp covered cheek. She grabbed a handful of the pulp from the ground beside her, raised her hand and smashed that handful of pumpkin mush into his pristine hair. He drew back immediately in surprise, and she kept the contact, smearing it over his face. She bit her lower lip, trying to hold in the giggle that forced its way out of her throat.

“That, precious thing, is a declaration of war,” he said, and she watched as he grabbed a handful from beside her, and his grin was on the meaner side of mischief as he smeared it down the front of her dress.

The sound that left her was somewhere between a shriek and a giggle, but it caused pandemonium to break out again, goblins that had been exhausted taking sides, and each one hurling pumpkin at each other until the entire throne room was covered in it.

They continued on like that, and had just started working on a truce that involved Jareth’s tongue getting reacquainted with the far reaches of Sarah’s mouth, when a sound by the door drew their attention.

“Oh, dear.” 

Boann’s voice met their ears and Jareth and Sarah sprang apart, both of them still flushed from their kiss as well as from getting caught acting like children by Jareth’s mother. Sarah managed to find a bit of pulp, sliding in it and almost falling until Jareth caught her around the waist.

The goblins took one look at their former queen and gave shrill giggles, then looked at their current regents before they bolted out of the throne room, using various corners and hides to escape the area.

The look on Boann’s face was a patient one that Sarah recognized, and a strangled giggle left the Goblin King and Sarah looked at him, finding he was trying hard to not start laughing. An almost identical sound escaped her, a second later.

“That’s the look you give me when you think I’m being an idiot,” she said, biting her lower lip to keep her giggles in.

“Liar,” he said, trying to stand straight and look dignified, and ultimately failing, because he was covered from head to toe in pumpkin guts. As if to mock his attempt, a big glob plopped onto the floor.

Another giggle burst out of them both.

“Are the two of you drunk?” Boann asked, and the tone was mild enough to make Jareth wince.

“No, mother,” Jareth said, his eyes shining with mirth and mischief. “As Sarah once so eloquently told me, we’re ‘cone sold stober’.”

“I did not say that!” Sarah objected.

“In fact, love, you did. You were quite drunk at the time, however.”

Boann cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to the other queen. She gave them a placid smile, before two mops with buckets clanked to the floor in front of each of them. 

Sarah bit her lower lip, trying hard to not giggle, and watching as Jareth looked at the bucket with a frown, then he arched a brow at his mother.

“You must be joking?”

“I am absolutely not even in the realm of joking, son. You made the mess of your throne room, and like when you were six and did something like this, you will clean it.” Boann’s brows lifted a bit, that smile still in place. “However, considering the state you both are in, you need cleaned up before you get started.”

Jareth wore a deer in the headlights look of alarm for a moment before they were both blasted with a spray of water.

Sarah wasn’t certain where Boann got a pressure washer, but she definitely had to give the former Goblin Queen full marks for her aim with it. 

The other queen kept watch over them until Nuada arrived to take her back to Mag Mell. Finding her in the throne room overseeing the cleaning that the current regent and his bride were doing led to inevitable questions. When Nuada finally stopped cackling at the story, and her description of the following events, he escorted his wife home for dinner.

Jareth hadn’t quite stopped grinning and Sarah would still occasionally burst into giggles, even as they cleaned up the throne room together. Once his parents were gone, she nudged Jareth with her hip.

“Worth every second of getting blasted,” he agreed, a sparkle in his eyes. “Next time, we ought to make certain that my mother isn’t here to make us feel like recalcitrant children.”

She stood in front of him, leaning towards him as she put her arms around his neck, a mischievous grin on her face. “Or, my lover, we could make sure we drag her into it, next time.”

He blinked, looking at her in surprise and a matching grin spread across his face before he leaned close and gave her another stirring kiss, his free arm going around her waist.

Somehow, they managed to get the pumpkin mess cleaned up. For the most part, anyways. Weeks later, they were still finding the seeds in random corners and in cracks of the stones. All of the goblins who participated in that afternoon’s mischief were required to have baths before Samhain, and Sarah found that candy was an excellent bribe to ensure cooperation.

As the revellers began arriving Sarah learned that the clean state of the Goblin Kingdom was considered unusual since the ascension of Jareth as the king. He seldom even cleaned up for proper events, and the whispers were that the changes to the kingdom were caused by her.

If only they knew, she thought, amused by the idea.

She may have been the catalyst for the changes, but she and Jareth both knew she was very suited to the Goblin Kingdom and its intrinsic chaos. She knew, just as well as her lover, how to make the chaos work so that it was functional as opposed to mere pandemonium. And even then, she knew how to relax and feel joy in it when it did slip over the line.

Before the Samhain celebration, Sarah and Jareth managed to get the goblins to line up for candy, and towards the end of the line, she felt Jareth’s eyes focused on her. Her expression brightened when she saw Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo in the line, and she broke away from her king to hug her friends. Hoggle stayed well away from Jareth, and Sarah knew that he was still afraid of the man she loved. Still, seeing her well seemed to bring her friends happiness, and they were glad to see her, though they didn’t stay for long.

After they gave the goblins their treats, the goblins went to cause mischief in the Above, knowing to keep it from harming people, and Jareth escorted her back inside so they could get ready for their party. They got dressed together, with Pan helping Sarah with her hair and makeup again. The fae features she now had in the Underground still faded when she went Above, but now she was having to cover some of the darker parts with makeup. Jareth mentioned that soon she’d have to start using glamour magic to hide them when she went Above.

The gown for this ball wasn’t like the others he’d gotten for her. The crimson gown had a far longer train than the others she’d worn, with brilliant ruby jewels sparkling all over the gown, from the lace trim at the v-shaped neckline to the matching trim around the hem of the gown. There were wider straps over her shoulders, made of the same heavy silk as the gown. She didn’t recognize it from when he’d taken her shopping, but she could recognize his tastes had been somewhat changed by a more modern aesthetic with the last several gowns. 

The goblin’s work on her hair was more sleek than previous styles, a simple, elegant updo and the combs that were clipped into her hair had a long, sheer, crimson piece of fabric that hung as long as the train of the dress. Her makeup was neutral except for the bold red of her lips.

When she’d asked Pan why, her assistant pointed out she didn’t need more, because she had their face and luminescent skin. The mask she was given was red lace, vaguely birdlike in design, and was pinned into her hair so it wouldn’t fall off during the evening.

After Pan left, Sarah took a moment to take in Jareth’s appearance. She started a bit, recognizing the fine cut of a modern tuxedo blended with his typical style of dress. There was red lace at his breast pocket and she smiled a bit, getting to her feet and moving towards him.

“You’ll certainly have everyone talking, tonight,” she said, admiring the cut and fit of his finery. “I didn’t expect you to dress in Aboveground fashion, too.”

“I’m not the one they’ll be looking at, love,” he assured her with a smile, and with a wave of his hand, a jeweler’s box came to rest on his hand. When he opened it, revealing the stunning necklace and earring set, she looked up at him, her expression turning soft and wistful.

“Are you always going to spoil me like this?” She asked in wonder, hesitating to touch the rubies and diamonds sitting in the velvet. He set the box on the dressing table, lifting the earrings, slipping them into her ears, his expression reminding her of when he’d done the same with the earrings he’d given her for Christmas. When the second earring was set in her ear, he turned her head so he could view them, a shine in his eyes that made her heart stumble again.

“Count on it,” he said, his voice low and quiet, but warm. She watched as he lifted the necklace from the box, and he leaned close. She felt the weight of it around her neck as he clasped it, and his fingers trailed over it as he straightened, and she saw the soft smile on his face. “Remember? I like spoiling you as much as you like me doing it.”

She slid her hand along his arm, taking his hand, and she felt her smile take on an edge of mischief. She knew the moment he saw it, because his pupils started to dilate, and his brows lifted.

“I wonder, what are the social implications of the hosting king being late to his own party?”

He gave a rough laugh, his free arm going around her waist and pulling her close to him.

“If tonight weren’t quite so important, I’d be happy to find out.” He growled, and as usual, that sound stirred her libido and she bit her lower lip. “However, tonight is the one night we can’t afford to be late.”

She looked up at him, in confusion as he reclaimed his hands, and he lifted them to the crown of her head, and she felt weight come to rest on it. Blinking, she turned towards the mirror and saw an elegant crown resting on her head, the same elegant design as the rest of her jewelry. She turned back towards him, looking up into his face in surprise. He gave her a warm smile, his hands cupping her face.

“I think it’s time for those rumors at court to be made official, Sarah.”

Her heart stumbled, skipping several beats in her chest, and she took his hands, holding them against her face as she met his gaze and then, she nodded in agreement, her heart choking her for a long moment. She thought she might cry, feeling the tears misting in her eyes.

“Then we’ll save that mischief for the after party,” she said, and she grinned when she saw his eyes sharpen with interest.

“I’ll hold you to that, minx,” he growled, deep in his throat.

“And if I defy you and make you wait longer, does that mean I’m getting a spanking?”

A laugh escaped him, and he put his arm around her waist as he escorted her from his bedroom. “Precious thing, if it’s a spanking you want, that would absolutely earn you one.”

She gave him a broad grin in return, but she didn’t smack him. A surge of pleasure went through her as his eyes became nearly black as his pupils swelled further. She knew that they needed to get away from the bedroom before they both decided social implications and announcements be damned. She lifted a hand to his face, brushing her knuckles against his cheek for a moment, smiling for him. 

“Then we’ll see if I’ll do that, tonight.”

He understood the message, and coughed a bit, escorting her towards the ballroom. Along the way, several goblins crept into the hallway to get a peek at their king and queen, before giggling and rushing back into the dark, knowing that they were about their mischief Above and throughout the Underground.

Sarah paused before they entered the room, and leaned close to her lover, a wide grin curling her lips.

“So, if anyone annoys us, tonight, what do you say to slinging pumpkin guts at them? It might be less diplomatically problematic than dumping them into the Bog of Stench, right?”

Jareth gave a laugh as they cleared the entrance of the ballroom and she tried for a look of innocence, knowing that she probably crashed and burned miles away from it. The looks of the fae attending the party at seeing Jareth in stitches was priceless, and she decided it was absolutely worth whatever punishment she ended up getting later for rendering the Goblin King to the point of giggles just before they were in public.

“You’ll pay for that, later,” he growled low against her ear, laughter still in his tone.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said, as he handed her into the throne on the dias and took his seat at her side. He gave her a pleased look from beside her, his lips quirked up into that smirk.

The music cued up, and several couples Sarah didn’t recognize approached them to introduce themselves to the new queen, and she listened to Jareth’s comments as they walked away regarding how near Jareth would station them to the bog given the choice. She managed to maintain her composure during it, although a few did result in a giggle that was a little louder than she should have allowed.

When Boann and Nuada approached, Sarah rose, moving down the stairs to greet them, not waiting for Jareth to join her. She and Boann exchanged kisses on the cheeks, and when she turned and did the same to Nuada, he looked surprised to receive the affection.

“Dare I ask what you were laughing about when you entered the room, son?” Nuada asked, giving Sarah a look that was a little more knowing than she cared for, even as she took her place at Jareth’s side.

“That depends entirely on how frisky you’re feeling, today, father. Sarah has very Goblin ideas regarding how to deal with annoying guests,” Jareth said, his eyes sparking with amusement.

“If any of this involved pumpkin seeds, I swear -” Boann started, her voice a combination of tart made sweeter by the laughter in it that told Sarah that she wasn’t serious.

“Can I plead the fifth?” Sarah asked, biting her lower lip and grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, Stars,” Nuada managed, laughter leaving both former regents of the Goblin Kingdom. “You really will fit right in.”

Though they’d been invited, Oberon and Titania were not in attendance, which didn’t surprise either of them. They were both still pissed off that neither she nor Jareth had been ‘sufficiently punished’ for what happened in their kingdom. Not even the high courts would touch the situation with a damn pole.

Georgine, on the other hand, was. She approached the dais with caution and didn’t approach further until Jareth gave her a nod. They both rose as she moved towards them, and seeing the way the woman trembled, Sarah finally moved down the dais towards her, taking her hands and giving them a squeeze.

The queen of Gwales didn’t seem to expect that, and she looked up at Sarah in surprise. After a moment, she bit her lip and lowered her head. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and sad.

“I wanted to apologize for what Titian did. I had thought he had better sense than that, but it seems that I was wrong. I heard what he did at Beltane, as well. Perhaps I was too lenient with him at my court -”

“Don’t you dare take the blame for him, your majesty,” Sarah said, shaking her head, and giving her a smile. “No harm came to me that couldn’t be handled. Besides, Titian is an adult, and is responsible for his own actions. You shouldn’t need to babysit him to keep him from doing foolish things.”

That much acceptance surprised the other queen, and Sarah realized after a moment that the woman was very young. Then, the other woman nodded. “I wasn’t at Beltane, I refused to attend, since Oberon and Titania are still curious about my decision to divorce their son.”

“Their loss, we’re glad to have you,” Jareth said, and Sarah thought she saw a bit of pleasure in the other woman’s expression. She sank into a curtsy and when she straightened, Sarah smiled at her.

“Enjoy your evening, Georgine.”

Once the other queen left them, Diarmuid approached them and Sarah felt an idea take root in her that blossomed as she listened to him speaking with Jareth, a somewhat hunted look in his eyes. Before he backed away from them, he turned and bowed before her, and she felt a grin curving her lips.

“You know, it’s my understanding that Queen Georgine is here this evening without a plus one.” Diarmuid looked towards her at her words, surprise in his eyes. “She might be willing to accept the company of a handsome man willing to help shield her from unwanted suitors.”

The young lord looked surprised for a moment, and then a smile curved his lips. “Might she?”

“If you approached with caution and respect for what she’s endured of late, I think she just might,” Jareth said, and Sarah saw a bit of a grin on his face as well. 

Diarmuid gave them both a modest bow and Sarah watched him turn and when he found Georgine, she watched him head in her direction.

“Playing matchmaker, love?” Jareth asked, lifting her hand to his lips, looking terribly amused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, your majesty,” she said, feigning being mystified by his question. “I just think that them both being here this evening without a plus one is awfully convenient. So, if they can shield one another from unwanted suitors, they might settle in and have a nice time.”

A laugh bubbled out of him, drawing the attention of those nearest to them, and when it died, he looked at her, his eyes shining. “Convenient, is it?”

“Of course. She gets a handsome specimen of a man who can pretend to be her lover and chase off unwanted suitors, and he gets a lovely young divorcee who can do the same for him. They both enjoy themselves, and stop looking so hunted.” She looked at him with a grin on her face. “And wouldn’t it be nice to normalize romance in the Underground?”

He took her hand with a wide smile, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it, mischief in his eyes.

The party hadn’t gone on for long before a strange tension tilled the air and Sarah blinked, turning to look at her lover, taking a sharp breath.

“What are the chances that someone’s about to wish away a child on Halloween, at our first official function together?”

She barely managed to ask before the sound echoed through the ballroom, above the music and the din of the dancers.

“I wish the goblins would take you away.”

“I’d say about a hundred percent,” Jareth said, a wry expression on his face. He got to his feet, and she watched as his handsome tuxedo changed to the imposing armor of the Goblin King. 

Everyone in the ballroom had stopped what they were doing and were looking up at them. Jareth gave her a smile and extended his hand to her. She set her hand on his and rose as well. As she did, her gown gave way to black leather fitting her just as well as his own did. 

Looking down at herself, she found they matched quite well. She gave him a smile as he took a moment to feast on her with his eyes, before turning towards the partygoers with a broad smirk. “Do continue to enjoy yourself. However, my lady and I apparently have an immediate appointment.”

They vanished from the ballroom, and went to collect their new goblin.

Sarah found them standing in her brother’s home, in a small nursery that was littered with toys. Three cries met her ears and Mariah stood in the middle of the room, with a barely born child at her shoulder, shaking with the force of her tears.

Jareth relaxed his grip on her waist and Sarah took a deep breath to steady herself. She knew that she and Jareth were both deep in thought for a long moment, remembering after her commencement, when Mariah had decided she wanted to keep her child, loving it too much to give it up.

She looked up at her lover, and she set her hand on Jareth’s chest. He waved the goblins away, and Sarah approached the young mother of three. She set her hand gently on Mariah’s shoulder, and the other woman turned towards her. Whatever she expected, it wasn’t what she got.

“Sarah?” Mariah whispered in surprise, looking her over in shock. Then her eyes moved to the man behind her and she swallowed hard.

Sarah wrapped her arms around her sister in law, holding her close to her chest, stroking her curls, letting the woman cry for a long moment.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I can’t do it,” Mariah gasped between shaking breaths. “It’s just too much.” She handed the child to Sarah, but almost immediately burst back into tears, reaching for the child again, torn between loving her child, and being so overwhelmed that she couldn’t manage three at once.

Jareth stepped forward, setting his arm at Sarah’s waist and drawing her close. “And you’ve said your right words, but it’s clear that you love the child and don’t mean it, or the goblins would have taken him before we even arrived.”

She gave a sob, and fell to her knees. “I don’t know what to do. Toby has been doing more, but tonight it was just too much. I can’t manage all three, and Toby’s in classes. Everything is a mess. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

Jareth crouched beside her, his fingers hooking under her chin and tilting her face up. There was an exasperated smile on his face. “You didn’t think to call us to help you? I know you know the truth of who I am, Mariah. You could have called at any time.”

That resulted in another bout of sobs, and Sarah sunk to her knees with them, cradling the wailing infant to her chest. They spent the time they were there helping Mariah calm down, and once she’d stopped the heart-wrenching sobs, Jareth started helping the children settle as well. Once everyone had calmed, Jareth brought the other two children with him, and sat on the ground, looking perfectly comfortable as he’d been in the throne in the ballroom.

“Alright, I’ve been thinking about this situation for some time and due to you being family, I’ve some leniency in this,” Jareth said, chucking Mariah under the chin, and giving her a grin.

“Jareth, what are you talking about,” Sarah asked, frowning a bit. She wasn’t aware that there were allowances. She certainly hadn’t gotten any.

“Due to her relation to you through Toby, Sarah, she’s related to the regents of the Goblin Kingdom.” Jareth said, his voice filled with mischief, as if he knew the reason for her confusion. “She also didn’t put enough heart into the wish in order for the goblins to obey it without question. I think your heart has been influencing them a bit.”

She felt a flush rush to her face and she whacked his arm a bit.

He chuckled. “Here is what I propose, Mariah. We all give it an evening, my lady and I talk, and you take some much needed downtime. If you wish, rather than turn this child into a goblin, we might have alternatives we can explore.”

They got to their feet, and Mariah brushed the tears from her face, looking ashamed of herself. “I should have called you two sooner. I just...hate being a bother.”

“You’re not a bother, Mariah. You’re family.”

She gave her a watery smile, and Jareth gave a grin that was nothing but mischief.

“Speaking of bothers, where if your husband, by the way?”

Mariah gave a watery laugh at that, and brushed her tears from her cheeks. “He’s at classes.”

“Good, then he won’t miss you for a few hours,” Jareth said, a grin curving his lips and he rolled his hand, a crystal forming on it, and tossed it into the air, dropping all six of them directly into the ballroom they’d left only a short time, before. Sarah gave a bit of a gasp, looking at the gown that Mariah’s pajamas had been changed into.

Mariah looked down, staring in wonder in the deep burnished gold gown she now wore, face partially hidden behind a gold filigree mask, her kinky curls loose around her shoulders, moons and stars woven into her hair. The look suited her, and made her look like a queen, as well.

Jareth gave her a grin, but Mariah barely had the time to notice before she was swept up into the dancers, spun around the room.

“She won’t end up spellbound?” Sarah asked, as he led her back to the dais, both of them still dressed in their dark armor, holding Sarah’s nieces and nephews.

“Everyone here this evening would have seen her arrive with us. Anyone who touches her knows they risk the considerable wrath of the Goblin King and Queen, and we do not show mercy to those who harm us or ours. Do we Matthew?” He bounced the boy a bit, his expression bright with amusement. Emily reached for his hair, tugging a few of the strands in delight. “Let her have a bit of fun. If she’s been pushed to this point, then she’ll be better for the few hours we keep her here, and we’ll have her home before Toby notices that she’s been gone.”

Sarah sat in her throne, cradling Sebastian, running her hand over the baby’s back, looking at her husband, lips curving into a smile. “So, you said you had ideas. Let’s hear them.”

“First of all, due to his relationship to you, he could be considered an heir to this kingdom. So, if she decides she truly can’t handle having this number of children, I thought we’d adopt the tyke. He’d make an excellent goblin, true, but this would keep him in your family. She wouldn’t be forced to bear the guilt of wishing the child away, and it would be easier to protect the families from heartbreak.”

“I thought they wouldn’t remember?” Sarah asked, keeping her voice quiet, so the revellers wouldn’t hear them.

“They wouldn’t, not really. There would be holes in their memories, the certainty that there’s something they’ve forgotten, but the inability to remember what it is they’ve lost. Pain tied to memories that should be happy.” He looked towards her, a complicated smile on his face. “They wouldn’t remember why the pain was there, but when a parent loves a child and loses it, the Labyrinth’s mercy isn’t entirely merciful. Magic can only do so much.”

Sarah looked at him for a long time, and reached over, setting her hand on his arm, her other hand cradling the baby’s head against her chest. “If she’s open to the idea, then so am I.”

He smiled. “I thought you might be, darling. You care for Mariah, and your parents, and even if your brother is a pain in the ass, you care for him as well. You care for the children. I think I know you well enough to suspect how you’d feel regarding this.”

She returned the smile, her expression warm, and they watched the dancers for a long time, before Jareth decided it was time for them to gather her now tipsy and relaxed sister in law, and tuck the woman and children into bed. They returned to the Above, got the babies tucked into bed, and Sarah found goblins doing the dishes, and straightening up the place. She smiled, looking at Jareth as he tipped her bleary-eyed sister in law into bed.

She suspected he was playing with time, but when they left, the apartment had been cleaned, before the scrape of the key in the lock told them to get out of there, everyone was sleeping and at peace.

Their own party was winding down, and when they arrived, she and Jareth took to the floor, sharing the final dance before the ball officially ended. They turned on the floor in their leather armor, her cheek nestled against his shoulder. As they danced, she looked up at him, a smile on her face. “So, do you think she’ll want to do that?”

He turned her on the floor, grinning a bit, and after a moment, shook his head. “I’ve decided that she’s going to get a few goblin assistants. Just to handle the work that she can’t handle. They’re under strict orders to stay away from your brother - I’m not sure he could handle that just yet, and you haven’t decided if you want them to know the truth. They should help her handle the strain. I also reminded her that she and Toby should take that cruise soon, and that we would take the children while they were away. So I think she’ll make it through. Our own children can come later, when we’re actually settled into ruling and are ready for that step.”

“And regardless of when that is, think of all the fun we’ll have trying.”

Jareth’s head rocked back and he laughed, the evening ending how it had begun, with the fae looking at them while her king laughed, until he caught her behind the neck, pulling her into a passionate kiss.


	20. Above and Underground

Mariah really had needed that night of stress relief. The three of them sat down together a few days later, and discussed what could be done to help her. In the end, she turned down their offer to adopt Sebastian, but Sarah could tell she appreciated the offer.

That gave Jareth the chance he needed to tell her the other options he’d arranged. He again reminded her that if she found herself needing a break, she should call them. This time, without wishing away one of the tots. She’d given a bit of a watery giggle and nodded her head. When Jareth told her that there would be goblins assisting her, she’d tried to refuse, and he gave her a look that was as cross as the ones he gave Sarah when she was being imprudent.

Sarah stifled a giggle at seeing it, knowing that Mariah was going to learn, just as she’d learned.

“Mariah, you have three children, and a husband in school. I’m offering you assistance you need to keep your sanity and your health. Now, if you’d prefer, I could just show up every day and put you down for a nap whether you like it or not, and if you don’t think I will, ask Sarah.”

Mariah looked at her with wide-eyes, and Sarah shrugged.

“I did tell everyone he was a bully.”

“You like that I’m a bully, love,” he reminded her, and she gave a grin and nodded in agreement.

“I do.”

In the end, Mariah accepted the help that was offered, and she was better for it. Sebastian eased through his colicky period, and Emily got her feet under her. Matthew started doing his best to help his mom, however he was able as a toddler.

When Toby and Mariah finally took advantage of their cruise, Sarah and Jareth took all three of the children to her apartment. During that particular event, Sarah decided each of the children would have made excellent goblins. Matthew and Emily tore around the apartment after the few goblins that had come to help them with the littles after the first night. Sebastian scooted around after them, himself, with bright eyes filled with mischief.

All the exercise they were getting with their rowdiness was resulting in all of them sleeping through the night, without the aid of magic - including Sarah and Jareth, and the goblins.

During that time, Nuada and Boann came to visit them in the Above, and found themselves besieged by infants and toddlers. They seemed bewildered by it, since neither Sarah nor their son had children yet, so Sarah explained the situation. The two seemed very pleased with Jareth for what he’d done, which led to Jareth looking somewhat embarrassed by it all when he arrived after dealing with something in the Goblin Kingdom. Nuada had suggested that he and Jareth should take the kids elsewhere, so Sarah could study with Boann in peace. Jareth agreed, and all the children and goblins left with them.

Sarah had blissful silence that afternoon, while she poured over the books Boann had brought with her. Boann made sure she took care of herself while she studied, and kept coffee in Sarah’s mug. That was how Sarah had learned that Jareth’s mother was the one who taught him to make coffee.

Apparently, Nuada was just as picky about it as she was.

There were a few more quiet afternoons like that, including one where Boann and Nuada took the children and goblins, and pushed Jareth and Sarah towards the bedroom for a nap. Sarah had just grinned, because she was starting to learn who had taught Jareth to be such a bully.

Toby and Mariah returned to pick up the littles after their cruise with tans and smiles on their faces. Their children cried until they realized it was their parents returning to them. Jareth had taken them all out to dinner, before they loaded onto the airplane to head home. Before they’d left, Sarah and Jareth had discovered that Matt was picking up some of his future uncle’s habits of bullying people. More than once, when Matt thought his mom was doing too much or needed to rest, he’d poke his father, and throw a fit until his dad stopped whatever his mother was doing.

Mariah didn’t know if she wanted to laugh about that or not, but Sarah could already tell that Toby would spend the next semester with at least one child on his shoulder.

As Yule grew closer, the wedding planning reached its peak, and Irene was on the phone with them almost daily to make certain they approved of everything before she or Robert went through with paying for anything. Jareth had shown her mother a picture of a gorgeous gown that he’d ‘seen in the window of a bridal shop’. That gown was the one that was chosen, and when Sarah got her fitting, she was unsurprised to find it fit her perfectly. It had the look of goblin craftsmanship, with stitches so fine you almost couldn’t see the hems.

Seen in the window her ass, she’d thought, while admiring the gown during her fitting - which she made sure Jareth didn’t get to be part of. He’d probably had the goblins working on this gown for months, to make certain it was perfect.

Now, the day of the affair, Irene had insisted that he wasn’t allowed into the room that Sarah was getting ready for the ceremony in. He’d knocked multiple times, and each time, Irene or Mariah would go to the door and shoo him away, though Sarah suspected Mariah was enjoying his annoyance with the situation. Sarah could imagine it, and wondered if it would net her a spanking, later.

The ceremony wasn’t very big. Her family and Jareth’s were in attendance, and they’d sent a courtesy invitation to Lord Diarmuid and Georgine, who were apparently tiptoeing around a proper courtship. The two were trying to keep it quiet, escorting one another to events, but Sarah recognized the looks Diarmuid was giving Georgine from when her brother had first met Mariah in high school.

They’d decidedly not invited Oberon and Titania, since they weren’t family. They’d get an invitation for the “official wedding” in the Underground, to avoid stepping on their toes. Jareth had already told her that by the law of the courts, they were married, and she was the queen. The show he’d made of Samhain had ensured everyone knew that. Between the gown, and them both going to collect a wished away child, no one had any doubt that she was queen by choice of the king and the land itself.

Still, they were both aware of the political benefits of them having an official ceremony in the Underground.

The wedding gown was a stunning off the shoulder, a-line gown with a heart-shaped neckline. There was fine bright-white embroidery all over the gown that made the gown look like it glowed. The back laced up with silk ribbons in a way that reminded her of the gown she’d won at Yule last year. For a moment, she took the time to wonder what he’d have planned for her, this year.

Irene had styled her hair, and Mariah helped her with her makeup, to ensure that she didn’t get any on her gown when she put it on. Sarah, meanwhile, was still weighing the pros and cons of telling her family the truth of who and what she was, now. She wasn’t certain they’d like the truth if she told them. Still, this wasn’t a little thing. It was a big, confusing thing, and she wasn’t certain that they’d understand.

Never mind realizing that she’d have to explain that she’d wished her younger brother away eighteen years ago.

She slipped in the chandelier earrings that Jareth had gotten her for the previous christmas, and listened to her sister in law and step mother gasp at the necklace he’d given her the night before for her to wear at the ceremony. She looked at herself in the mirror as she set the necklace in place, trying to ignore the shaking in her hands.

Boann came in before the ceremony, looking terribly amused about something as she came over towards the vanity, dressed in a pretty pale blue sheath dress.

“Jareth looks ready to chew through stone,” she said, straightening her pillbox hat in the mirror a bit, her eyes meeting Sarah’s and shining with entertainment. “I don’t think he’s ever been made to wait like this before in his entire life.”

Irene looked at her, confused and curious. “He didn’t realize he’d have to wait for his bride?”

“He’s not the most patient of men,” Boann laughed, shaking her head. “He gets that from his father, who is doing his best to keep him from pacing a hole in the carpet. His current annoyance may be in part the fault of your brother, Sarah.”

“What’s Toby doing to annoy him, this time?” Sarah wondered, looking at Boann in the mirror, lifting a brow. The twitch at the corner of her soon to be mother-in-law’s lips made her almost regret asking.

“He’s spent the last half hour grilling Jareth when you two are going to start...what was his phrasing...Ahh, yes. I believe the exact wording was ‘popping out crotch goblins’.”

Sarah sputtered, covering her mouth with one hand. She could just imagine what was going through her lover’s head, right then, and none of it boded well for Toby. Irene looked at Boann in surprise, and then frowned.

“I will be discussing that with him when I get out there.”

Mariah stood, straightening the dark purple dress she wore, giving Sarah a grin before hoisting Emily up to her shoulder. “I’d better get out there, before Toby really irritates him, then. I can imagine what will happen if it continues, and I don’t want to lose that open ended babysitting offer.”

Mariah gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then hurried out of the room.

Boann looked amused and sat on the chair that Mariah had just vacated. “You look lovely, Sarah. Jareth picked your jewelry, didn’t he?”

Sarah smiled and nodded, looking up into the mirror while Irene fussed a few more of her curls into place before she carefully set the comb that her veil was attached to into her hair. 

“He did. He said the necklace was his grandmother’s.”

“Something old, something new, I think you need something borrowed and blue, still,” Boann said, with a sparkle in her eyes. She pulled a box seemingly out of nowhere, and opened it, showing a tiara that had pale blue stones accented by diamonds in it. “I wore this at my own wedding, to Jareth’s father. Jareth and your mother handled most of this, so if it pleases you, Nuada and I would like to offer this to you for the ceremony.”

Irene looked surprised, and a pleased blush at the acknowledgement covered her mother’s face. “It is lovely, Sarah. And it will look perfect. The blue matches the forget-me-nots in your bouquet.”

Sarah smiled at her mother and at Boann, accepting the box, and nodding her head as she took it. She took a steadying breath as her mother took it, and realized none of this all was complicated at all. She’d been the one overthinking and overcomplicating it. As the tiara was set on her head, she took a deep breath and looked at Boann, reaching and setting a hand on hers. “Boann, could you give me and my mom a minute? I have something I need to tell her.”

Interest lit her mother-in-law’s face and then there was a flash of understanding in her pale blue eyes, before a smile curved her lips. She stood and gave her a kiss on each of her cheeks, then she looked at Irene, something else in her eyes. “This is definitely a story worth hearing. I’ll see you both after the ceremony.”

She then gave Irene a kiss on the cheeks, as well, and then headed towards the door. Once she was gone, Sarah turned on the stool she sat on, taking Irene’s hands and giving them a squeeze.

“You really like Jareth?”

“Of course I do! I’ve said already, it’s a rare thing when you find a man who will not only take care of you, but can make sure you take care of yourself, too. He supports your dreams, and that’s just...that’s beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Mom, Jareth isn’t who I’ve been saying he is, all this time,” Sarah admitted, heaving a sigh and trying to think of how to explain this. She could see confusion and worry on her step mother’s face and squeezed her hands again. “Not like that - he is my fiance, but up until the twentieth of last year, I hadn’t seen or spoken with him since I was fifteen. This story is going to require you suspend belief until I’m completely finished, but I promise that nothing I tell you now is stretching the truth or a lie. Just plain truth. So I ask you to just listen until I’m finished.”

Irene sat in the chair that Mariah had vacated, expression concerned and bewildered. “Sarah, is something the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “Mom, this is the story of how your daughter did something terrible when she was young and stupid, and how that dumb mistake helped her find the man of her dreams as an adult.”

With that, Sarah took a deep breath and told Irene everything. How she’d wished Toby away when she was a teenager, and won him back. How she had changed for the better after that night. How she’d been lying about having a boyfriend because she didn’t want to disappoint them. Wishing herself away to the goblins before the holiday, and how Jareth came back into her life. How she hadn’t really been dating Jareth last Christmas, how that had changed, after the holiday. How she’d fallen in love with him. The story spilled over her lips until she reached where they sat, and silence filled the room after the flow of words stopped, Sarah still holding Irene’s hands tightly.

“Sarah, this all sounds crazy,” Irene said, finally, looking at her, looking like she was still trying to process everything.

“I know. But you and daddy deserve to know the truth, to know everything. I’ll tell him, too. I wasn’t certain I was going to, but you both should know the truth. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. And I swear I’ll find a way to prove it to all of you, that it is true.”

She felt the magic bind that promise as sure as she’d felt the tug from the last few wished away children from the Above.

“Then Jareth’s parents -”

“They’re glamoured fae, here supporting their son, the same way you’re supporting me. Diarmuid and Georgine, too.” She gave Irene a smile, squeezing her hands. A knock at the door drew her attention, and she recognized the knock as her father’s. She lifted her gaze, looking at the clock. She stood, pulling her mother to her feet and hugging her tight. “Come on, it’s time.”

Her mother nodded, moving towards the door with her, still looking somewhat bewildered. Her father watched Irene walk past him with a dazed expression and he frowned a bit. Before he could ask if Irene was alright, Sarah stepped out and her father got the first full look at her. She saw his eyes mist up for a moment.

“Ahh, sweetheart, you look lovely. Come on, let’s get you to that man who’s taking you away from me?”

She smiled, nodding and took her father’s arm. As they walked together, she told him the same story she’d told Irene. He tried to interrupt her several times, but she just squeezed his arm and kept talking until they reached the procession. He had problems taking his place next to her mother, but Irene looked more steady by that point, and knew that she’d keep her dad in the moment.

When the procession started, Sarah fell into step at the back, with no one at her side to ‘give’ her away. She didn’t need anyone to hand her off to the man she loved, and she’d made that decision when the planning had first started. She’d given herself to him, already, heart and body and soul, and this was just ceremony. She and Jareth both knew that.

When she entered, she kept her head lowered for a moment, lifting her gaze to look at Jareth, finding him at the front of the room, dressed in a handsomely cut black tuxedo, with a white vest and bowtie. Her heart stumbled in her chest and landed in a heap, as it still did whenever she looked at him. She hoped her heart never stopped doing it, never grew jaded of how handsome he was. He turned, and when he looked at her, she had the pleasure of seeing that gut-punched look on his face. Silently, she thanked her mother for making sure he didn’t see her in the dress until right now. She’d missed that look, and the last few parties in his realm, she hadn’t gotten to see it.

When she reached his side, she wasn’t certain either of them were really listening to the officiant, since they were both lost in each other’s eyes.

Neither of them snapped out of it, until it came time for them to speak their vows, which the officiant had to snap between their faces in order to get their attention. Jareth gave her a bit of a grin, and he took her hands, and he thought for a moment, taking a deep breath.

“In all my life, I never dreamed that I could ever be as happy as you have made me. In you, I have found a friend, a lover, a partner to share my life with. From something that began as a mere convenience, you have tangled me up in your life and your heart, and I can no longer imagine my life without you in it. I fell in love with your heart, with your drive, and with your refusal to settle for anything less than your dreams. So, for you, I will promise you that my heart will only ever belong to you. I will support you in your every endeavor, to honor you and respect you. I will laugh and cry with you and never take you for granted. I will cherish you for the rest of our days together. And when you need it, I’ll bully you, too.”

Sarah gave a teary-eyed laugh, biting her lower lip as he put her ring on his finger. Once it was in place, his hand lifted, brushing a tear from her eyes, and she took a steadying breath.

“What a road we took to get here,” she managed, turning her hands and taking his, holding them tight. “I was so afraid of falling in love with you. I never thought you could feel even a fraction for me that I felt for you. You bully me to take care of myself in ways that I didn’t think about before. And it makes me want to take care of you in all the same ways. You say you can’t imagine life without me, and I say you don’t have to. From today on, I will always be part of it. I love you, Jareth. And I’ll do everything I can to support you, for the rest of our lives.”

She put the plain gold band on his hand, and they kept staring into each other's eyes and almost missed their permission to kiss each other. Jareth, however, wouldn’t ever miss an invitation like that, and his arm went around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her so deep she bent back over his arm. She lifted her hands, holding onto the back of his neck and laughing into the kiss as he straightened them back up. When she turned towards the gallery, she saw them standing and clapping, rose petals being thrown by Mariah and Boann. The officiant took leave, and Sarah glanced at Jareth, a smile that she knew looked rich in mischief pulling at her lips.

“Jareth, do you think you’re up for some heavy lifting?” She asked, watching as their families started moving towards them.

“What did you have in mind, Sarah-mine?” Jareth asked, pulling her closer to him.

She leaned close, putting her lips near his ear to tell him her idea. He straightened and looked at her in surprise, before a delighted smile curved his lips. He glanced towards the gallery and his lips curved into the sort of smile that would have made her nervous a year ago. With a wave of his hand, a crystal rolled appeared, rolling up to the tips of his fingers, and he tossed it into the air towards the center of the room, where it burst into a shower of glitter.

Everyone still in the room was transported to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. They were met with fanfare as excited goblins blew into trumpets, and threw confetti and glitter into the air. Her family looked around in surprise at the creatures scrambling around the room. Mariah, however, laughed, giving a turn as she realized where she was again. Several goblins rushed towards her, taking the children off to play. Toby, who hadn’t heard the story, yet, looked completely confused, and she took his hand. Sarah watched as Mariah pulled him away from the others, and knew that she was going to tell him a story that had only been told three times before.

Sarah and Jareth stayed where they stood, and watched as Robert and Irene approached them with nerves in their eyes. Robert looked at his daughter and new son in law, seeing them both without the glamour magic hiding what they were. She saw his throat bob as he swallowed, and took a steadying breath. When he spoke, he pinned Jareth with a serious look, a bit of a frown pulling on his lips.

“You’ll take care of her?”

“Always,” Jareth said, giving Robert a sincere smile. “I swear it, I’ll even shake on it, if you’d like, though that might be redundant.”

“You made a bargain with him last Christmas, Dad,” Sarah said, smiling at her father. “That he shouldn’t leave me when I panicked and tried to push him away. And he has been keeping that promise, this whole time.”

“And she did panic.” Jareth said, his lips twitching. “Once or twice.”

“I did, didn’t I,” Robert said, after a moment, remembering when he’d made that agreement with Jareth. “Well, I’ll still be holding you to that, then.”

Irene had been quiet, looking at Jareth without the glamour hiding what he was. What they were. Jareth just gave her a charming smile, and a bow.

“Not what you expected, am I?”

“You’re an actual king. And Sarah -”

“Is my queen.”

Tears misted Irene’s eyes and Sarah moved towards her, clasping her hands. Her mother didn’t look at her.

“Are we losing her?” Robert seemed to realize that worry just as Irene said it, and he stepped towards them, concern on his face, again.

Sarah looked at Jareth for a long moment and he gave her leave to answer.

“No, I promise.” She said, smiling for them.

Jareth came to stand at her side, setting his hand at her waist. “She and I both value the peace that we have in the Above. As you may have noticed, things are far from peaceful, here. We’re working on an arrangement where we can still do our work here as well as be a part of your lives. Sarah loves you both. She would never be happy with me, if having me meant she had to let you all go.”

“Alright, then,” Irene managed after a moment, nodding her head. “We’ll be holding both of you to that, too.”

Sarah gave them both a smile and a hug, before another voice was heard over the rest of the noise.

“You wished me away to the _goblins?!_ ” Toby was about arms length from them, his expression somewhere between pissed off and amused. Mariah stood behind him, giggling.

Sarah and Jareth turned towards him, and Sarah felt a mischievous grin pull at her lips.

“You’re lucky I only did it once, given all the bullshit you’ve given me over the last nineteen years.”

“You _so_ deserved every damn canned snake I ever gave you,” he said, eyes sparkling.

Sarah just laughed.

“We still have a lot of questions,” her mother said, taking her hands.

She and Jareth nodded, since this was something they’d expected. However, before the questions could start, Jareth’s parents came forward and detached her parents from them, leading them to a different part of the room. Sarah suspected that her parents would bombard them with some of their questions and hoped that would save them from a few of them. Lord Diarmuid came forward with Georgine, both of them looking in good spirits, and they gave Mariah a curious look, before recognition covered their faces.

“You were at Jareth’s Samhain celebration!” Georgine said in surprise. “I didn’t realize you were related to Sarah!”

Mariah saw the suspicion on Toby’s face when he looked at her, and before any of their questions started, Lord Diarmuid and Georgine moved them away from Sarah and Jareth.

When they stood alone again, Sarah turned to look up at her husband, a shining smile on her face. “I love you.”

“Well, it’d be awkward if you didn’t,” Jareth teased, lightly. His eyes shone, and he leaned close, kissing her softly on the lips. “I’ll never get tired of hearing it, however. I love you, too, Sarah-mine.”

They stayed that way for a long moment before Jareth checked the watch that was in his pocket, and straightened, a look of mischief on his face.

“You’re looking like you’re ready to throw water on a bag of cats,” Sarah said, arching a brow at him.

“Do I?” He asked, grinning at her. “I was just thinking that there were a few people missing from this whole affair?”

She looked at him, perplexed, and he rolled another crystal up onto his fingertips, a grin on his face as she looked into it, and her eyes widened as he tossed it into the air. When it came down, she saw Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo in the middle of the room, looking like he’d pulled them from whatever they’d been doing. All three of them seemed to realize where they were and turned towards Sarah and Jareth. She drew a sharp breath, looking up at Jareth in surprise. He just smiled at her, warmth in his eyes.

“Go on, love. I’m not going anywhere. Take some time and reunite properly with your friends. You’ve been missed, just as you’ve missed them. I’ll be here when the day is done.”

Tears wet her eyes and she gave him a thorough kiss, then lifted her skirts, rushing towards her oldest, dearest friends, wrapping her arms around each of them tight. While she did, she knew her husband remained where he stood, watching her, and waiting for when he could have her attention once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.


End file.
